Good Enough
by Lurisa
Summary: ZUTARA:The Gaang has retreated to the Western Air Temple after their defeat during the Eclipse. Zuko's been in jail since returning to the Fire Nation. When Katara finds him while breaking out the warriors, will she leave him there? Or will she save him?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Avatar: The Last Airbender is the property of Mike and Bryan. We are in no way making any profit off of this. 

**Authors' Notes:** This is a story that I've been working on with my cousin Simatra. She's pretty much awesome. It all started one night when we'd been drinking Mountain Dew, eating chocolate, and spazzing. We saw this picture, I colored it, and a story formed. It was meant to be a oneshot but it sort of took over our minds; it's grown and developed chapters. Anyway, I hope you enjoy our little project. 

**Summary:**

_After their defeat on the day of the eclipse, the Gaang retreats to the Western Air Temple. While there, they find out the location of a Fire Nation __prison that may be holding their father and the other warriors captured on the day of the eclipse._

Meanwhile, having been imprisoned shortly after his arrival on Fire Nation shores, Zuko's guilt has slowly been driving him mad. As he slips in and out of consciousness and fever-induced dreams, he slowly gives up hope of ever being free.

When Katara comes across him during the prison break, will she somehow find it in her heart to forgive the battered prince? Or will she leave him there, alone with his madness?

* * *

**Chapter One**

"There it is," Katara hissed, pointing with her finger at something in the distance.

"You can't be serious," Sokka exclaimed in a harsh whisper, following her pointing finger. "It's in the middle of a lake of boiling lava! How are we going to get into there?"

"Anyway we can," Katara said determinedly, watching the dark entrance to the prison. She looked at her surroundings; taking in everything and trying to decide how to cross the lake of lava. With the whole gang there, this should be easy. She got an idea. "Lava is just melted earth. Toph, you can make a path using your Earthbending." 

Toph nodded and walked casually out to the bubbling lava. Getting into her horse stance, she pulled the molten rock together, trying to pack it in. 

"Okay, now, Aang," Katara said, turning to the little bald monk. "Cool it down using Airbending." 

Aang smiled and jumped up to help Toph. He took a deep breath and _Whoosh!_ the path was complete. 

Sokka brightened. 

"We're this much closer to finding Dad," he whispered excitedly to her. Katara grinned back at him.

Stepping out on to the path, Katara noticed that the lava beside them slowly ate at the path, melting it again. Sokka noticed too. 

"Look at that everyone," he said pointing at the edges of their walkway. "We need to hurry." 

They broke out into a run towards the island prison. 

No one spotted them, and they didn't see anyone as they moved behind some rocks for cover, sitting down and panting after their run. Sokka held on to his side and pointed to a nearby doorway that would hopefully lead them to the prison. 

"I think we need to go down there. I'm sure that's where they are keeping everyone," he gasped.

Aang looked at it a moment and turned back to Sokka.

"You and Katara go. Toph and I will stay here in case any trouble comes." Aang looked at Katara worriedly. "I know how important it is for you guys to find your dad. I just hope nothing happened to anyone. It would all be my fault."

"Don't be ridiculous, Aang. Everyone knew the consequences. They'll be fine," Katara reasoned, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder. He smiled weakly up at her. 

Toph stood up. "You better get going. I'll block up the doorway so no more guards can get in or out. When you guys get back here I'll move the rocks. If anyone comes, it'll just look like a landslide."

With one last glance over her shoulder, Katara followed Sokka deep into the dark tunnel, drawing a stream of water and holding it at her side. Even with Sokka leading the way with the torch, Katara was still uneasy and watched the shadows for signs of Fire Nation guards waiting to ambush them. 

_Toph and Aang are standing guard on the surface,_ she told herself reassuringly. Unfortunately, Toph closing the earth over the exit to their escape route had plunged them into darkness, leaving only the five feet of flickering light from Sokka's torch for them to see any threats. It was hard to be reassured when she couldn't see everything going on around her. 

They, unluckily, ran into some guards on the way; fortunately, Katara had frozen the two men in place before they had alerted more guards. Sokka searched them, finding a mapped layout and two sets of keys. 

"Thank you," Sokka had said tauntingly, tapping the rolled up map against the chest of the guards as they left them in an empty storeroom. Katara locked the door behind them with her set of keys and Sokka spread the map out on the floor. 

Sitting down to look at the map closely, Sokka's finger traced the different routs they could take. "Look, Katara. It seems that the prison cells are this way." 

They quietly discussed their next move. "We'll want to take this direction; it doesn't pass any quarters where there might be guards. If we took this other way we'd have to pass a Mess Hall. The only other path has sleeping quarters along the way." 

Katara nodded in agreement and Sokka folded the map, stood, and took a deep, relaxing breath before heading down the tunnel.

They passed down the tunnel without hearing anything but the sound of their feet padding on the packed earth. It was odd to think that over their heads, on the surface, the Fire Nation was sleeping, not expecting an attack; the Eclipse warriors were locked away in their prison. Who could possibly be a threat? And then, down here, the only Fire Nation who knew the warriors would not be in jail for much longer were the two guards frozen in an empty storeroom.

The tunnel flattened out and small holes from far above gave the place an eerie light. The tunnel widened and Katara could hear scuffles and sniffles and coughs from ahead. She and Sokka exchanged a look; they must be getting close! Breaking into a run, they raced towards the sounds of voices and more eerie light. Finally, they reached a wide corridor with cells on either side of them and torches lit on the walls. 

"We're here," Sokka exclaimed softly, not wanting to alert any guards to their presence. Katara hurried passed a few empty cells as Sokka rushed along the other side, opening cell doors as he went. She could hear the jubilant whispers as the Eclipse warriors were freed. Katara moved along faster, skimming each cell in search of those she wanted to free. Then, just as she getting to the end of the row, Katara noticed movement in a cell she'd thought empty. 

"Zuko?" 

She saw the Fire Nation prince (though you wouldn't know by looking at him) curled in the corner of his cell, his arms wrapped tightly around his shaking body. She couldn't believe it; how did he get here?

He raised his head at the sound of her voice. She saw his amber eyes trying to focus on her face. His mouth opened and closed but no sound came forth. He wet his cracked lips and tried again. "Katara?" 

His voice cracked and was barely audible. Katara cringed at how terribly mistreated he looked.

Katara grabbed her set of keys and began working a key in the lock, her fingers fumbling as she tried to turn it. 

"I'm here, Zuko," she said gently. "Just stay awake; stay with me. I'm going to get you out of here." 

"I'm sorry…" he whispered.

Katara looked down at the keys in her awkward hands and chose another one. Shoving it in the lock, she tried turning it. Nothing. She didn't know what to say. The silence followed as she tried another 

key. Zuko coughed and it was so raspy and sickening Katara paused just to listen and watch him for a few dazed, horrified moments.

"I know," she at last replied, finding her voice and picking another key and repeating the process. It didn't work either. She dropped the keys as her frustrated fingers sought out the next one on the ring. They clattered against the stone floor and jingled when she picked them back up. 

Zuko slumped over onto his side, his eyes slipping shut. 

"Zuko," Katara exclaimed in a harsh whisper, clambering with the keys. Her eyes widened; he wasn't answering. "Zuko!"

Turning, she yelled over her shoulder for Sokka, not being quiet in the least. She shoved another key into the lock and twisted. It broke off, making it impossible to keep trying; Katara almost cried in frustration.

She heard running footsteps coming her direction and drew a stream of water to defend herself, dropping the key ring to the floor once again.

"Katara!" Sokka came hurrying out of a cell followed by her father and the others who had been captured on the day of the eclipse. It was a small crowd of poorly cared-for people. Katara looked at some of her friends who had cuts or bruises and an unconscious Suki cradled in Sokka's arms; her clothes were ripped and she had several cuts all over her. Hugging Suki closer to him, Sokka scolded in a whisper, "You shouldn't have yelled! You could've alerted the guards!"

"I can't get this lock open," Katara explained, yanking on the offending piece of metal and slamming her shoulder against the door. 

Sokka raised a questioning eyebrow and turned to take count of those behind him. "Who is it? I thought we had everyone." 

Katara shook her head.

"From the invasion, we do. But it's…it's Zuko," Katara said. Sokka stiffened and then frowned.

"We've got to get out of here Katara. He made his choice, let's go," he said harshly.

"No," Katara said fiercely, pointing through the bars on the door. "We can't leave him here! He'll die!" 

Sokka seemed shocked. Appalled, he said, "He's their _prince_! They wouldn't let him _die_ in here, would they?"

Hakoda stepped up to the door and looked inside to see the state Zuko was in. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he took in the distraught look on Katara's face and the tears brimming in her eyes. He turned to Sokka.

"Katara's right, Sokka. We need to get this boy out of here. Take the others to the surface. Leave your boomerang," he commanded. "Bato, stay here."

With a nod, Sokka obeyed his father's orders and started down the corridor, casting a worried look over his shoulder as he disappeared into the dark. 

"Katara, freeze the lock." 

Katara did as she was told with no questions. Her father was here. He'd be able to fix everything. 

"Now step back." Hakoda rammed Sokka's boomerang against the frozen metal with enough force that the lock shattered. 

Katara shoved the door open and rushed into the cell only to almost tumble back in disgust; the smell was nearly unbearable. But Katara soldiered on, her instinct to care and be kind overriding the one telling her to get out of the cell as fast as possible. 

"Zuko," she called, falling to her knees beside him and shaking his shoulders gently. Zuko's clothes were ripped and filthy. His dark hair was matted with dirt and blood from a gash on the side of his head. Katara examined the wound closely, carefully prodding the area around it. It didn't look to be infected, which was good, but it was fresh and a sign of a recent blow to the head. If he fell asleep, he might never wake up. She shook him more firmly. "Zuko!"

Zuko's eyes opened slowly, his brow furrowing as he concentrated on her face, trying to bring it into focus. They appeared glazed and unfocused, as though he hadn't used them for anything important in a while.

"Katara?" He gave his head a firm shake and blinked several times. His hand reached up slowly through the air, stretching toward her face. His lips moved but his voice was so quiet that she couldn't hear anything but a low mumble. 

"Yes," Katara replied, taking his hand in hers and cradling it against her cheek. "I'm right here. We're going to get you out. So, promise me you'll stay with me, okay? I won't leave you if you don't leave me, agreed?" 

He sighed heavily and slowly nodded. 

Hakoda and Bato had followed Katara into the cell and were moving around the two on the floor.

"We've got to go, Katara," her father told her, taking Zuko's hand from hers and pulling it over his shoulders. Bato took the other side and hoisted Zuko to his feet. "Come on, son. Let's get you out of here." 

Katara stood up, taking a torch from the wall to lead the way back up to the surface as Zuko slipped out of consciousness again.

* * *

Here it is, our first chapter to the planned one-shot that took over our minds! The plot bunnies were RABID!!

...So...Now I guess we'll talk about this chapter!

Simatra: In our first verison of this, Sokka sounded like he was all for leaving Zuko there to die...basically, a teutonic twit!  
Lurisa: ...he's...blink, blink...German??  
Simatra: vacant expression...YES!! AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT!!

We are not entirely sure that Zuko knows Katara's name is "Katara" and NOT "Water Tribe Peasant" but, you see, Zuko croaking "Water Tribe Peasant..." would not elicit the proper amount of remorse from Katara, making it impossible to continue the story in the direction we wanted to take it...BECAUSE!! Gasp for air! being referred to as "Water Tribe Peasant" would not make Katara willing to free Zuko, but rather...LEAVE HIM THERE TO _ROT!!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** If you think we own this, you're crazy. All Avatar: the Last Airbender afiliated things belong the wonderful minds of Mike and Bryan. If we had come up with this show, we'd have made Zutara canon by now. Enjoy!

**Chapter Two**

At first, Zuko thought he'd finally given up and had died. That could be the only explanation for the feel of a soft pillow in the place of the cold, stone floor beneath his cheek. He hadn't felt something that soft in ages. He hadn't been warm in ages either, or heard birds. He heard them now, twittering in a manner that would've been annoying had he not been locked away in a prison and left there to die; now they only cemented his belief that he finally had given up. And all because he'd been stupid enough to listen to Azula. 

Azula always lies. Why couldn't he just remember that? Was it really so hard? Why did he have to be so gullible?

Zuko rolled over and squeezed his eyes closed, trying not to think about his horrid sister. But it was too late. She tormented him even when he was dead and thought he'd finally escaped her manipulative wickedness. 

As soon as he'd stepped foot on the shores of the Fire Nation, she'd had him clapped in irons and carted off to the prison surrounded by lava. 

"I can't risk you trying to rescue Uncle," she'd told him, examining one of her perfectly manicured nails. She looked up at him and smiled wickedly. "Did you really think that a traitor such as yourself would be welcomed home as a hero?"

Zuko had looked away from her, ashamed that he'd been so easily taken in by his sister's charisma. 

"Oh," she said, then added with a little laugh, "You did, didn't you? Pathetic."

And he'd watched her step gracefully into a waiting palanquin as he was dragged away.

He'd waited for Ozai to come free him. Surely, if he'd known his son was locked away in such horrible conditions, he'd come release Zuko. The Firelord was his father, after all. He wouldn't allow his son to be imprisoned. But the orders never came and Zuko had lost track of how long he'd been in the prison. He'd gone from being angry, to being confused, to being feverish and haunted. What he'd done in Ba Sing Se, it was the worst kind of wrong. The Waterbender had seen something in him, had trusted him, and he'd thrown it back into her face. Where there'd been even the littlest bit of hope, he'd shattered it. 

And then she was there, standing on the other side of his cell door. She was a delirium, of course. So he'd talked to her. Told her he was sorry. He knew the panic in her voice as he'd slumped over was all part of the feverish dream. But, for just a moment, there was a second of clarity and she was leaning over him, her blue eyes troubled and tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. He'd seen that look once before when Azula had killed the Avatar. It had been his fault that had happened then. And it was his fault that it was happening now. 

He'd reached through the haze creeping around the edges of his vision to touch her face. 

"Don't cry," he'd tried to say. "Shh…don't cry."

She'd pulled his hand to her face, her warm face, and smiled down at him encouragingly. "Don't leave me."

He remembered nodding before his eyes had closed for what he thought the last time. 

He felt a stream of warm sunlight on his face. Not the watered down kind that had seeped into the prison through holes far away near the surface but pure sunlight that warmed him to his very core. The scent of cool, fresh air drifted around him. He heard water bubbling somewhere nearby. Oh, yes, he must be dead. 

Thinking that, as long as he was dead, he might as well explore his surroundings, he sat up slowly, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.

_Funny,_ he thought looking out a wide window over a bubbling fountain. _This looks just like the Western Air Temple Uncle brought me to when I was first banished._

Pushing himself to his feet, he leaned against the foot of the bed. He wasn't entirely sure that being dead was supposed to be quite this uncomfortable. Every muscle in his body ached and his head spun. He closed his eyes and gave his head a firm shake. It cleared a bit and he started for the door. His legs felt shaky beneath him and, when he reached the hall, he tried to support his weight by leaning against the wall as he walked. 

There was an eerie sort of quiet; it wasn't completely silent. He could still hear birds and the fountain. If he listened closely, he could hear the breeze rustling the leaves on the trees and bushes in the garden. It was more…peaceful than silent. He hadn't known that sort of quiet in a long time. 

He caught the heady aroma of flowers and followed the path toward them; they reminded him of his mother. Maybe she was here, too. He took a deep breath and filled his senses with the smell; it helped his aching head.

He rounded the bend in the path and came to a small open area surrounding a small fountain. Seated on the ground beside the fountain with her back to him was a girl. Her hair flowed down her blue back in waves of dark brown. He realized that the rich smell he had followed had come from the bright orange flowers that circled the small clearing. 

Hesitantly, he cleared his throat. 

Alarmed, the girl jumped to her feet and spun around. 

_Katara_, Zuko thought, shock rendering him speechless. _Oh, this is not good. If I'm dead and she's here then—"_

Katara launched herself at him, her arms wrapping about him and holding on tight. Her momentum toppled the two of them and he fell backward, landing flat on his back with Katara on top of him.

"_Oof_!" The air rushed out of Zuko's lungs as he struggled to grasp what exactly was happening. Just as he was starting to get his breath back, she sat up and slapped him. 

"That was for Ba Sing Se," she said fiercely, unhealed pain swimming in her eyes. "I trusted you and you betrayed me."

There was no mention that he'd betrayed the Avatar or that he'd betrayed his uncle. He'd thrown her unearned trust back at her and it was for that that she was holding him accountable. Zuko rubbed his stinging face. "I'm not dead, am I? Or dreaming?"

Katara blinked at him, her pain being pushed out of her eyes by honest caring. It was not something he was used to. "What exactly do you remember, Zuko?"

He looked away from her, unable to look at that undiluted kindness in her blue eyes, and sat up, resting his arms on his drawn up knees. "I remember Azula ordering me to be thrown in prison and my father not doing anything about it. And I remember the prisoners from the invasion being brought in." 

_But everything after that is fuzzy_, he almost added. He looked back at her. "And I remember you. You told me not to leave you."

Or had that been a dream, too? Nothing made much sense anymore. Zuko's head felt heavy and he had a headache that had him running his hands over his head looking for the sharp needles of pain. While he had been in prison, he had lost all boundaries between reality and his dreams. Was he just a victim of another one of his fever-induced visions? 

"Zuko," Katara said softly, reaching out and laying a light hand on his shoulder. She wasn't entirely sure what to do but felt that some sort of connection was needed. "What do you mean? Are you saying that, after Ba Sing Se, they threw you in jail?" 

Disbelief edged her question and Zuko's head hurt even more trying to remember the details.

After Ba Sing Se…no, after killing the Avatar, Azula had taken the throne and Uncle had been thrown in jail. Zuko remembered trying to go speak with him but he had refused him. He remembered that. And he remembered being angry and hurt and confused. He'd wanted so badly to explain to Uncle why he had done it, why he'd followed Azula. But the old man would have nothing to do with him.

Then they had left for the Fire Nation. Mai was his only comfort during that time; he could forget his problems when he was around her. All the anger and the pain and the confusion would seep away until it was as though they had never existed. 

But his problems had slapped him in the face as soon as he reached the Fire Nation; he had been arrested and thrown in jail. 

"Hey! What's going on," he had yelled as the guards carried him away. 

Azula had given him one of her you-mean-you-haven't-guessed looks.

"Why would Father want _you_ home? You've been nothing but an embarrassment! Plus, we can't risk you trying to free Uncle," she answered with a shrug of her shoulders and, turning her back to him, she had walked away to the palanquin.

Zuko had struggled against the guards to no avail. He called out to Mai but Azula ordered the girl to her side.

Mai had taken one last look at Zuko and the look in her eyes almost had him believing that she would defy his sister and come to him. But, in the end, she obeyed Azula and left him to his fate.

"Bye, Zuko," she had said in her normal, monotone voice. 

After hearing those words, he had stopped struggling. No one was going to help him.

The rest was a blur. How much time had he spent with his guilty conscience? How much time had he spent being haunted by the things he had done? The people he had hurt?

"Yeah," Zuko muttered to answer Katara's question. "Yeah, they did."

Zuko was lost in painful memories while Katara stared at him curiously. 

She thought of how she and Sokka fought and of how she'd accused her father of never being there. She'd never realized just how selfish it was of her to react that way. Here was Zuko, who's sister had betrayed him and who's father had scarred and banished him. He had been thrown in jail by the very people who should've done everything in their power to keep him out. She knew that, had she been thrown in prison, Sokka and her father would go through hell and high water to free her. She couldn't even begin to wrap her head around the idea that Zuko didn't have family like that.

Giving into that same compassionate instinct that had brought her to her knees beside Zuko as he lay in a dirty cell, she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him close. 

"I won't lie to you, Zuko," she said softly, feeling Zuko tense. "I don't know what you're going through. But I do know that we'll help you get through it. I'll be here for you."

Zuko felt Katara's arms tighten slightly and fought the urge to pull away. The truth was that, although Zuko fully appreciated the gesture, he'd been locked in a small cell for a long time; he was feeling claustrophobic. 

As if sensing that he was uncomfortable, she loosened her arms, resting her hand on his back instead. 

"Just remember what I said Zuko," she said with a gentle smile. She stood and turned to walk away. 

Zuko's hand darted out and grasped hers. She stopped and looked down at him. He was still looking away from her, toward the setting sun.

"Thank you," he whispered, looking up at her. "Thank you for everything."

She nodded, giving his hand a squeeze before taking a few steps away and rounding the bend.

He'd thanked her. He appreciated what she'd said. And then she'd walked away? Katara hit herself in the forehead with the palm of her hand. _Stupid, stupid, stupid..._

Turning back around, she marched back toward the alcove. He'd heard her coming and was on his feet, eyeing her suspiciously. She stopped before entering the small clearing, giving him his distance. 

He watched as she stood there, worrying her bottom lip and furrowing her brow in thought. He lowered his hands, trying to override the instinct to protect himself; she was no threat to him. He didn't want to scare her away by being unapproachable so he lowered his eyes to the ground at her feet. It was hard for him but he'd try to be submissive if it would keep her around. 

"Are you hungry?" Zuko looked up at her. She was smiling warmly again and holding a hand out to him. "I'll give you a bit of a tour along the way."

He looked from her face to her hand, trying to decide what to do. The smile on her face never wavered, her hand never shook. It seemed genuine. Zuko cleared his throat and took her hand. "I'd like that…thank you."

Katara's smile grew at the added gratitude and led him back down the path. "You're very welcome."

* * *

Mwahaha..ha..hahaha...hahahahhahahha

Okay...now that that's out of our system, on with the craziness! 

Feast your eyes upon Chapter Two people! Behold the loveliness! The brilliance! The...the...um...right...you get the point.

Here's your explination of how Zuko ended up in jail (Bad Azula. Bad!), Zuko's craziness, why Zuko's hurt...in short, this is the Zuko chapter. We really enjoyed writing from Zuko's perspective. It was great fun and a little different for both of us. And, in case you don't realize this (which means we didn't do our job properly), Zuko's condition still isn't so great. We'd rate him about 75 or lower. 

**This is picture can be found here: **

http/northernbanshee.

**It is the picture that inspired us to write a oneshot...that turned into something much more. **

Simatra: **face in hands** You're so dramatic...

Lurisa: **grinning like mad** You know you love me _and_ my drama!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **We do don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender. Those rights belong to its amazing creators, Mike and Bryan. We do however, take credit for kidnapping thier well developed characters, warping their brains, and making them do our bidding. Enjoy!!

* * *

**Chapter Three**

"And this is where we eat," Katara said, pulling Zuko out of a wide hall and into a spacious foyer that opened onto a balcony. The ceiling stretched far above his head; the light from the fire burning in a small circle of stones didn't reach it. Sitting around the fire was a ragtag group of people that included the Gaang. 

Zuko stopped short, Katara's hand slipping out of his as she kept walking. Feeling the loss, she came back to stand beside him. "What's the matter?"

He looked from the group of people to Katara, trying to convey everything he was feeling. Walking the empty corridors with her as she pointed out rooms was one thing. He could deal with just one person; it might even have been considered comforting the way she carried the conversation even with his short replies. But stretched before him was a mass of people that he wasn't sure he was up to facing. 

Katara laid a comforting hand on Zuko's shoulder. "It'll be okay. I'll be right here."

"Katara!"

Startled, Zuko dropped into a defensive stance, pushing Katara behind him. 

Aang skidded to a stop as Toph walked calmly around the Airbender.

"Cool it, Fire Boy," she said nonchalantly. "We're not going to hurt you."

He felt Katara's hand resting lightly on his shoulder. "It's okay, Zuko."

Zuko relaxed his stance but didn't let his guard down. He did try, for Katara's sake but he just couldn't drop it entirely. He'd been betrayed and had betrayed too many for him to completely trust those around him. 

Katara gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "What is it guys?"

Aang came closer but kept a watchful eye on Zuko as he said, "Your dad was looking for you."

"We were just coming to find you when you walked in," Toph added.

Katara smiled excitedly. "Come on, Zuko. There's someone I'd like you to meet."

Taking him by the elbow, she guided him along gently, keeping to the outskirts of the crowd. When they had reached the other side of the room, Katara directed him to a stone bench against the wall. It was mostly blocked from the view of the crowd so it was private. "You can wait here if you like. Nobody should bother you."

Zuko nodded his thanks and sat down. How did she know that he wasn't up to being the center of attention yet? It was the same with the way she'd avoided the Avatar's questioning look when he'd spotted her hand resting on Zuko's shoulder. It was as though she knew exactly what he was thinking and feeling. How was that even possible?

"This way, Dad," he heard Katara say. He looked around the boulder blocking her from his view and saw her leading an older man toward him. There was something vaguely familiar about him but Zuko couldn't put his finger on it. 

Katara and her father stepped around the boulder. Her father smiled warmly at him. "So, you've decided to join the land of the living at last."

Zuko raised a questioning eyebrow in Katara's direction. She looked away from his gaze and up at her father. "Dad, this is Zuko, Prince of the Fire Nation. Zuko, this is my father, Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe."

Hakoda bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you; I've heard so much about you."

Zuko cringed and Katara shuffled her feet. 

"I think I'm going to go get something to eat." She walked around the boulder then peeked her head back around. "Are you coming?"

Zuko blinked at her expectant face. "It was nice to meet you, sir," he said at last, standing and bowing then following Katara around the outside edge of the foyer. 

"The food is in here," she explained, ducking through a doorway and into a side room. Setting in the middle over a cooking fire was a pot of rice. In a haphazard stack near the pot were bowls of various sizes. Katara picked up one and spooned some rice into it. Holding it out to him, she asked, "Do you want it? It's not much but it's all we've got for now."

Zuko took the bowl from her and stood by a wall nearby. "Katara," he asked, looking at the rice. "What did your dad mean by my joining the land of the living?"

He looked up when she didn't answer and saw her looking up at him. The ladle in her hand was suspended over the rice, forgotten. "You were asleep a long time, Zuko." She spoke quietly, looking away from him. He gulped in discomfort.

"How long?"

She swallowed and spooned some rice into her waiting bowl before replying quietly, "Long enough for us to wonder if you'd ever wake up."

He fell back against the wall, all the air leaving his body as he sank to the floor. "That's a long time," he breathed. 

"It was touch and go for awhile," Katara explained softly, coming to sit next to him. "Not only were you sick but you'd suffered a blow to the head. That's why I suspect you don't remember everything that's happened. It's only been the last few days that I've felt like you could be left alone. Before that, someone was always there, watching, waiting to alert me if you took a bad turn. Lucky for us you didn't." She looked down at her rice and moved it around in her bowl. "I don't know what I would've done if you'd gotten any worse; I'm not an experienced healer."

They were both silent, looking at the rice in their bowls but not having much of an appetite. 

Finally, Katara said, "You talked." Zuko's head snapped up and he looked at her intently. She was looking across the room at nothing in particular. "While you were sleeping, you talked."

"About what?"

Katara set her bowl aside, choosing instead to play with the folds of her robes. "Most of it I couldn't understand but your uncle mainly. You're worried about him." 

She didn't say anything about his mumbled apologies to her and his murmuring her name. Or about the way his hand would grip hers tight enough to leave bruises. And she didn't tell him about the times he'd jerked up in bed, his eyes wide and unseeing and his throat tight with his screaming. 

Zuko looked away and down at his bowl of rice. "I guess I am. I haven't heard anything about him since I was imprisoned."

"He's not imprisoned anymore," Katara told him quietly. "He escaped on the day of the invasion."

Zuko jumped to his feet. "Where is he? I have to speak to him!"

Katara looked up at him. "He's not here. He and another member of the White Lotus Society have gone on some secret scouting mission."

Zuko began to pace across the room, shooting questions at Katara in rapid succession, not waiting for her answers. "Did you see him? Was he okay? Did he ask about me? Does he know that I'm sorry?"

Katara stood and placed a hand on his chest, stopping his pacing. "Take a deep breath Zuko. Yes, I did see him and, yes, he seemed okay. No, he didn't ask about you but I told him you were here and that you were sick and he hardly left your side from the time he arrived until he had to leave."

Zuko sighed and sank down on a bench setting against a wall. "Does he know I'm sorry?"

Katara contemplated lying to him, just so that he'd stay calm. He'd scared her for a moment; he'd been unconscious a long time and she didn't want him to overexert himself. She didn't want him to relapse. But one look at his tortured face and she knew that lying to placate him was out of the question. She just couldn't bring herself to do it. 

Sitting down beside him, she looked at her hands folded in her lap and said quietly, "I don't know."

"Do you think he'll ever forgive me?"

She looked up at him and sought out his eyes. They were downcast and Katara could see pain swimming amidst his confusion and guilt. Resting her palm against his jaw, she pulled his chin up so he was looking at her. "Zuko, you're uncle loves you very much. I could see it in the way he helped me nurse you back to health. You're like a son to him. I don't see how he couldn't forgive you. You made a mistake; everyone makes mistakes."

"But not everyone's mistakes lead to the death of the Avatar or to having Uncle thrown in prison for treason." He took her hand is his and pulled it away from his face. "And not everyone's mistakes destroy as much as mine do."

Katara squeezed his hand. "But Aang is alive and your uncle isn't in jail anymore. Your wrongs have been righted."

"But not forgotten." He stood up from the bench and walked to a window, looking out into the night. "And not forgiven."

Katara followed him. "I've forgiven you. I know that there is good inside you; I've seen it. But it's like a fire that needs to be fanned. It's dim and weak but, with help, it could grow and consume you like your rage once did. You could be great, Zuko."

Zuko felt Katara's hope. It was hard not to. It radiated off her like light from the sun. But it was equally hard to accept it. She had so much of it aimed at him. What if she was wrong? What if he wasn't as good as she thought? What if he let her down as he had Uncle? He didn't know if he could bare the guilt a second time. "What if…what if I'm not good enough? What if you're wrong about me?"

He looked down at her and she smiled warmly. "You are as good as you allow yourself to be. If you want to be a noble person, if you truly want it, then nothing can stop you but yourself."

"Yeah, maybe so." Zuko said doubtfully. He suddenly got a sharp pain in his side, wrapping his arms around his stomach and letting out a moan of pain. Katara rushed to him.

"Zuko!" she cried. He collapsed and held his side; it felt like his stomach was caving it on itself. An odd feeling came to his throat and, before he knew it, he had thrown up the little rice he had eaten. 

Katara jumped back from the pool of spit up and stared at him. He was straightening up and looked pale again.

"You must have eaten too much too quickly," Katara exclaimed. She felt so stupid for not being more careful. "You've been on a small diet for a long time. While you were asleep, it was hard to give you proper meals," she explained quickly. 

Zuko groaned and felt his energy drain out of his already weak body. 

"Come on, we have to get you back to your room. I should have known better than let you be out this long in your condition! I'm so sorry!" She moved to help him up and put his arm over her shoulder. Zuko didn't say anything, just focused on trying to keep his legs underneath himself. 

"Sokka! Come help me," Katara cried out to her brother. He was sitting nearby, next to a girl Zuko didn't recognize. Sokka and the girl took one look at the scene and jumped up to help.

"What happened?" Sokka asked Katara, taking Zuko's other arm and putting it over his shoulder.

"Here, allow me, Katara," Suki said taking Zuko's other arm from her so Katara could talk to Sokka properly.

"Thanks, Suki," Katara replied quickly, turning to her brother. "He ate his rice too quickly and threw up. We need to get him back to his room. I shouldn't have let him," Katara said worriedly.

Sokka consoled her. "It's all right Katara. You're doing your best. He'll be fine." 

They got Zuko to his bed and Sokka and Suki left Katara with her patient. Katara spent the remaining of the day there. Zuko stayed awake as long as he could; Katara feared that he may take a bad turn if he fell asleep again. He started getting better and Katara consented finally that he would be fine and agreed to leave him to sleep.

"Pleasant dreams, Zuko," Katara said softly as she closed the door behind her.

* * *

Please, read and review! We love to hear what you think!! 


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** Avatar: the Last Airbender and all it wonderfully, colorful characters belong to the awesome Mike and Bryan. 

* * *

**Chapter Four **

Zuko tossed and turned that night as he slept; his dreams were anything but pleasant. In them, he was walking down a long corridor with towering ceilings. The only light he had was a small flame that burned in the palm of his hand. Pictures hung on the walls, bordered with ornate, gold frames that glistened brightly in the dim light. He walked along the corridor, glancing at pictures here and there but never really looking. He had to get to the end of the corridor. He needed to reach the end. 

Then, a picture at his right caught his eye and he turned to get a better look. It was all green and bright blue with smears of orange and yellow and black. He as he watched, the paint shifted and changed, the swirling colors taking on shapes and forms until he realized what it was a picture of: Azula killing the Avatar as he stood idly by and watched. 

Zuko fell away from the painting, turning to run down the hall. The paintings that he'd passed unseeing became crystal clear; all his mistakes, all his wrongs were laid before him in unmistakable clarity. He ran past them, hoping to escape them but the corridor seemed to stretch forever and the flame in his hand grew more and more dim. 

The paintings grew as he ran until they towered over him, filled in the corridor behind him. 

At last he came to a door. He pushed through it and slammed it behind him. He could hear the paintings clattering to the floor on the other side of the door and he chanced a small smile. Holding the flame in his hand aloft, he looked about him. It was a small room, empty of furniture. Its white walls were unadorned save for a small gilded frame across the room. 

Zuko tried to stop his feet from crossing the floor. He knew now what the paintings held and he was in no hurry to see another mistake laid before him. But they moved of their own accord until he was standing right in front of the swirling colors of red and blue, black and orange. He watched in horror as they changed and cleared. He tried to look away but he was held fast by the terrible awfulness of it all. 

When it was all clear, when the paint had stopped shifting, the scene before him scared him. He was there, in the alcove with the fountain and the orange flowers but the fountain was toppled and the flowers were burnt. Around him, flames grew in a tighter and tighter circle and rose higher and higher above his head. He sat on the edge of the fountain, a girl in blue robes cradled in his lap. Her dark hair fanned out over his arm; her arm hung limply out to the side, dangling inches from the ground. 

He launched himself at the painting, tears streaming down his face and screamed, "Katara!"

The painting only grew more vivid, the colors were brighter, scorching the image into his mind; he'd never be able to escape it. 

"Katara! No!" He tore the picture from the wall and threw it across the room. "No!"

"I had so much faith in you, Zuko."

He spun around, looking for the source of the soft voice, for Katara. 

"And you let me down."

"No," he whispered, sinking to his knees. He put his hands to his head, shaking it, trying to get the voices to leave.

"Yes," she countered. "You made too many mistakes, Zuko. And I died as a result. You weren't good enough."

He curled in on himself, his arms wrapped tightly around his middle as though they could keep him from falling apart, and he wept. "Katara!"

The flame in his hand went out and he was left in darkness.

"Zuko," Katara yelled, shaking him. "Zuko, wake up."

He'd been screaming again. She'd been coming to check on him when she heard it echoing through the quiet halls. Light streamed out into the hall from rooms whose occupants were wide awake and wondering what was happening. She could hear their whispers and murmurings following her as she hurried to his room. Then she heard him scream her name in terror and she was sprinting up the stairs and down the short hall. 

Katara burst through his door to see tears leaking out of his good eye, sweat rolling down his pale face and muttering one word over and over again. "No, no, no, no…"

"Zuko, it's only a nightmare," she told him, smoothing the sweat soaked hair off his face. "You've got to wake up. Please, wake up."

This wasn't the first time she'd found him like this. When he'd been unconscious, she'd often wake from her place by his bed to find him curled within himself, sweating and murmuring nonsense over and over. 

"Zuko, please wake up." She ran a thumb over his cheeks, swiping his tears and sweat away. 

Suddenly, he jolted upright and gasped for air as though he'd been drowning and had finally found his way to the surface. His hand clenched tightly around her wrist; she was losing feeling in the tips of her fingers. He stared at the wall blankly, frozen in fear and still somewhat lost in his dream.

She laid a tender hand on his shoulder. He jumped and looked up at her. Zuko's eyes looked black and were glazed in confusion and pain as he skidded into the farthest corner of his bed, dropping her wrist like it had burned him. 

"Zuko," she whispered, sitting on the edge of the bed and facing him. "It's okay. I'm here."

He bit his bottom lip and his brow furrowed in confusion. Slowly, hesitantly, he came closer to her and reached for her, the glazed, crazy look in his eyes fading away with every inch he moved.

Katara stayed where she was, having a feeling that she just needed to wait it out. Before, when he'd been unconscious, she would watch him toss and turn in his sleep as if plagued by a vicious nightmare. At times like those, she had wanted so badly to reach out and try to calm him down. She had done her best by bringing water to his forehead, attempting to clear his thoughts with the cool liquid. 

Warily, he placed the palm of his hand against the side of her face, acting as though something bad would happen if he did. When nothing happened, he raised his other hand, cradling her jaw. 

Katara smiled up at him and touched his hands, saying slowly, "See, I'm right here."

Without warning, he crushed her to him, letting out rough, ragged breaths. "I'm so sorry, so sorry. I didn't mean to do it. I didn't mean it. I didn't know."

"It's okay, Zuko," she replied, wrapping her arms around him, her hands running in soothing circles over his back. "It was just a dream, you didn't do anything."

He pulled back and looked at her, his hands resting on her shoulders and his eyes fierce, suddenly very serious. "No, it isn't okay. I killed you. You were dead and it was my fault, my mistake. I wasn't good enough and you died. That's no okay."

Katara raised a hand to the side of his face. "It was a dream, a nightmare. I'm not dead. I'm right here."

He smoothed his hand over the top of her head, twining a wavy lock around his finger. "But you could be dead," he whispered, concentrating on the wavy lock. "You could die before this war is over."

Katara touched his hand, closing hers around it and pulling it out of her hair. She cradled it in her lap and traced soothing circles across the back of it. "Tell me of this dream, Zuko. What has you so convinced that I'm going to die?"

He pulled away from her and sank back against the wall beside his bed. He was calmed again, but he didn't look at her. "I saw all my mistakes and…and I saw you dead. That's all there is to it."

The corners of Katara's mouth pulled down in a frown. "I don't believe that's all. And I don't think you'd make a mistake that would lead to my death." She smiled, then, and he finally looked over at her. "You're good, remember?"

He scoffed at her words. "I'm not good, Katara; I've messed up too many times. You're putting too much faith in me. I'm going to fail your expectations. That's what kills you! My failure!"

She backed away from the rage in Zuko's eyes. Zuko, realizing that he'd frightened her, softened his frown and said gently, "I don't want to fail you, Katara. You deserve someone who will be a success, who will be able to live up to your expectations. I've always been a failure and I always will be a failure. You shouldn't waste your hope on me," he said bitterly.

There was a resounding crack that left Katara's palm stinging and an angry mark on Zuko's face. His face winced in pain and, frozen, Katara felt something come up her throat that made it hard for her to speak without her voice cracking. "Don't ever tell me where to place my hope. If I want to believe in you, I'll believe in you. Someone has to have a little faith in you because you obviously don't have any in yourself," she said, looking straight into his eyes.

Zuko raised a stunned hand to his face. 

"You are hopeless. If you fail, it's going to be because you allow yourself to fail. Not because people put too much faith in you but because you don't put enough in yourself. Your uncle sees it. I see it. But you—" She shook her head. "—you are blind to it."

He looked away, ashamed.

"I don't know how help you," she continued, exasperated. She sat beside him on the bed. There were tears in her eyes; she blinked them back. "I want to, I want to so much. But I just don't know how."

"Zuko!" Their heads snapped around to see Uncle Iroh standing in the doorway, a smile stretching across his face. He rushed into the room and gathered his nephew up into a tight hug. "You're awake!"

It took a few moments for Zuko to recognize what was happening but, as soon as it registered, his arms were wrapped around his uncle.

"I'm sorry, Uncle," he said as they pulled apart. "I should've known better. I should've never listened to Azula. I'm so sorry."

"All's forgiven," Iroh said, sighing at patting Zuko's back comfortingly. "Now, there's someone I'd like you to meet."

He stepped back and motioned toward the door. Standing there was a tall woman with long dark hair. Her amber eyes were swimming with tears and a small smile pulled at the corners of her demure mouth. 

"Hello, Zuko," she said softly stepping carefully into the room. Zuko sat there, his mouth hanging slightly open in shock at the woman in the doorway.

Zuko eyed her suspiciously before walking up to her hesitantly, stopping right in front of her. "Mom?"

The woman nodded and tilted her head slightly at the sight of her son. "I'm sorry I've been gone for so long."

Zuko blinked, then took a deep breath. "Azula's out of control again," he replied softly, not knowing what else to say. "She could use one of your lectures." 

His mother gave a teary laugh and wrapped her arms around her son. "I'll make sure I give her a very stern one."

Katara seemed torn between shock at seeing the woman she thought was dead and shock that Zuko had attempted a joke. She looked over at Iroh who was watching the scene with tears in his eyes. The mother and son started talking to each other at once, exchanging stories that Katara didn't pay attention to. 

Not sure what else to do, she stood silently and walked to the door. She felt as though she were trespassing on this family reunion. That and she felt an old hurt welling up in her heart. Her mother wasn't going to return in Katara's life. She was never coming back and a part of Katara was envious of the gift Zuko had just received. 

Zuko noticed her get up to leave and stopped talking to watch her head for the door. His mother turned and watched the scene carefully, her observant eyes dancing from her son to Katara and back. 

"Katara, wait." 

She turned around and saw Zuko striding toward her, reaching a hand toward her and his mother in tow. The smile looked awkward on his face, as though those muscles were out of practice, but it was genuine. 

"Katara, this is my mother, Ursa."

Katara turned to the woman and began to bow but was interrupted as Ursa wrapped her in a tight hug. Katara, stunned at this show of affection from a woman she didn't know, lifted her arms in surprise before eventually returning the hug. 

"Thank you for saving my son," she whispered. "He needs someone like you."

Katara blinked up at Zuko. What had he told this woman about her that she hadn't heard? But he only continued to smile appearing not to have heard what his mother had told Katara. "You're welcome," she whispered back, still looking at Zuko.

Ursa pulled back and smiled down at Katara. "Now, Zuko tells me that you make the most delicious rice. Care to make a small bit for the general and me? I'm famished"

"I've told you, Ursa, I'm retired," Iroh said, coming up behind them. 

"Pish posh," she replied with a wave of her hand. "You'll always be a general in my opinion. Now, Katara, dear, the rice. Do you feel up to it?"

Katara nodded, a little stunned. "Yeah. No problem. Just follow me."

* * *

Here's Chapter Four!

Lurisa:Yeah! I KNEW Ursa was alive!  
Simatra: Uh, Lurisa, we WROTE this! In fact, you even wrote most of this!  
Lurisa: OH YEAH! **Smacks forehead, thus killing brain cells**  
Simatra: **Shakes head**

**cough**

So, Zuko's dream. Let's talk about that. So you may be wondering whose twisted mind THAT came out of. **Lurisa jumps up and down, hands waving around wildly**  
Lurisa: ME! That was me!!  
**Simatra gets knocked unconscious by flailing arms**  
Lurisa: **Looks down** Opps...**Shifty eyes **Uh, Wakie wakie! Eggs and Baccy!  
Simatra: YOU HIT ME!  
Lurisa: BUT--but--but, we're on Chapter FOUR!! I didn't think we'd make it this far...**mumbling **with our lack of focus...  
Simatra**:Glare...**Anyway... 

Did we mention Ursa and Iroh? Horray for Iroh breaking the tension. So much tension...We were afraid they might actually kiss or something! PDA!! **Snicker, snicker**

This picture was done by Simatra. Horray Simatra!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

She turned slowly to the door and hurried out, forgetting about Zuko and his dreams. Zuko walked up beside her and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"I didn't tell her that."

He straightened up and looked down at her. She raised a skeptic eyebrow at him as he fell back behind to talk with his mom. _Must have been Iroh._ Katara guessed as she led the group out to the clearing for a very early breakfast.

Zuko's mom talked eagerly beside him, but never lost her grace and poise. She was so fair tempered and graceful; Zuko wished he'd inherited those two traits.

"I'm so happy for you, Zuko. Iroh has told me of your journeys…your troubles." She looked away sadly. "But you're the strong young man I always knew you would be." She laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. He smiled, but then had to look away. He saw Katara out of the corner of his eye.

"I'm not that strong…" he said. "I've hurt so many people." He looked up at Katara, watching as she crossed the room, gathering things she'd need to prepare the rice. His mom followed his gaze and gave his shoulder a good shake. She had a stern look in her eye just like she did when he was a kid and he and Azula would get into trouble.

"You listen to me, Zuko. I don't ever want you to say or think that again. You are what you make yourself to be. That girl isn't going to suffer if you don't make her. Don't push her away." She pressed her lips together and removed her hand from her son's shoulder to fold her arms into her sleeves.

Zuko figured it best not to argue with her. She was wrong though, everyone was wrong. How could he be expected to just forget everything that he had done? All the people he hurt? Could hurt? He just sighed, "Yes ma'am."

The sun was just starting to rise in the summer sky. The Western Air Temple gave a feeling of being upside down, yet it was a normal feeling for them now. Katara got the rice started and sat down to watch Zuko, Iroh, and Ursa talk to each other.

"I was so worried for you, Zuko. I thought you might have died." Ursa said with sparkling eyes as she looked tenderly at her son. Zuko looked at his hands, unsure how to answer.

"Well, we have Miss Katara to thank for that. She nursed him back to health," Iroh replied, waving a hand in Katara's direction. Katara straightened at the sudden attention she got; Zuko, Ursa, and Iroh were all looking at her.

"I couldn't leave him there," Katara finally answered. Zuko looked away angrily. "No one deserves to die like that."

Katara got up and stirred the rice before dishing some out for all of them. Handing them each a bowl full of rice. Katara made plenty so when everyone else woke up she would just have to reheat it.

Zuko wished they would move on to a different subject. He poked at his rice before taking a bite.

"How is the mission coming along," Katara asked Iroh suddenly, trying to fill the silence. Iroh swallowed the rice in his mouth before sighing.

"I think all is going well. We have been able to find quite a few members. They leave clues to their whereabouts. We found a Mr. Piandao who said he knew you kids. Is this so?"

Katara slapped her forehead. "I can't believe it! Of course! Yes, we knew him, he trained my brother to be a swordsman. When we left, he had given us a tile! I can't believe we never caught on!" Katara exclaimed. She suddenly looked worried and leaned forward, "Did he agree? Is he coming?" Iroh nodded his head. Katara sat back and smiled. "Sokka will be so happy! Thank you Iroh."

Iroh and Ursa chuckled at Katara's eagerness.

Zuko was utterly confused.

"What are you talking about," he shouted impatiently. Where had his Uncle and Mother been all this time? He felt his mom's hand touch his shoulder and turned to look at her.

"Calm down, Zuko. Don't overexert yourself," she soothed. Zuko slumped over in embarrassment. Katara giggled, covering her mouth with her hand; he glanced up to glare at her.

"He's fine, Ursa. Zuko, do you remember my club?" Iroh smiled while Zuko's mouth opened as he stared at his uncle.

"This is about your stupid club? What are they going to do to help," Zuko asked bluntly.

"What do you think," Katara asked him sarcastically. "We're kind of in the middle of a war, if you didn't notice! We need all the help we can get."

Zuko sighed and looked over to his uncle. "I just don't get what they have to do with this. I thought they didn't support any individual nation."

"This is true nephew. We don't," Iroh said calmly.

"But we don't support the war either," his mother added; Zuko turned to her in surprise. She was part of the White Lotus group? That's where she had been all this time? Hiding with people of the club? "We want peace within the nations as much as individual nations do. They have been planning for years on how to end this war. We now have the Avatar on our side, which makes things a lot easier. But members have been scattered. That's what General Iroh and myself have been doing. Rounding up members," she finished. Zuko nodded and understood.

Suddenly Iroh stood and spoke to Ursa. "It's about time we leave again. We are on a tight schedule and so much has yet to be done."

Ursa nodded her head and stood up. Zuko quickly stood in front of his mom.

"You're leaving me again," he asked.

Ursa gave a weak laugh and hugged her son. "Don't worry, dear. I'll be back soon," she said softly.

Zuko hugged her tightly before breaking away.

"I want to come with you," he said. Katara's eyes widened in shock.

"You can't," she shouted at him suddenly, jumping up and standing in front of him. Everyone looked at her as Katara stammered, "You're not better yet. You have to stay here…so I can make sure you heal."

Zuko looked at her stubbornly. "I'm fine!" he said defiantly.

Ursa shook her head. "No, honey, she's right. You must stay here, this is where you are needed."

Zuko looked at her as if to argue but then sighed in defeat.

"Alright," he said so quietly that Katara could hardly hear him.

Zuko felt useless. And he didn't want his mom to leave him again; they had just been reunited.

"Make sure you inform the others of what we have told you," Iroh said as they left on Appa. Katara and Zuko waved goodbye to them, then walked back to the clearing where they had been earlier.

"The Avatar let them take his bison," Zuko asked Katara. Katara nodded sadly.

"Yes, it took a bit of convincing but we all agreed it would be the fastest way for them to travel. Aang really misses him." Katara explained. Then, after a long pause and a tired sigh Katara changed the subject, "You better go back to your room and get some more sleep. I'm going to clean up the rice bowls. Will you be okay?" she asked.

Zuko bit his lower lip. He really didn't feel like sleeping and exposing himself to the dreams again. "I'm going to help you. I'll be fine."

"Okay…" Katara said unsure.

* * *

Wow! They're attempting domestic chores together! Their relationship is evolving in leaps and bounds!  
Lurisa: Hooray for the White Lotus People!  
Simatra: Um, it's White Lotus Soceity, Lurisa...  
Lurisa: I know, but trying saying WLS as opposed to WLP, which one sounds better?  
Simatra: facepalm Mo-ron!


	6. Chapter 6

_**Disclaimer:** Avatar: the Last Airbender belongs to Mike and Bryan. We are getting no money out of this. We do this simply because we enjoy it. Thanks for reading!_

* * *

**Chapter Six**

They did the dishes in silence, Katara washing and Zuko drying and each sneaking looks at the other when they thought the other wasn't looking.

Katara promised herself it was because she was scared he would get tired. The moment he so much as yawned, she was sending him to bed, nightmares or not. It had nothing to do with her being curious as to his offering to help her without being coerced or her trying to catch a glimpse of that rare smile of his. Well, it had almost nothing to do with that anyway.

And Zuko, well, for once Zuko wasn't lying to himself. Katara did look pretty—for being a Water Tribe peasant and all—and there was a part of him that had liked the fact that she hadn't wanted to let him leave with his mom and his uncle. Of course, he was also nearly positive that it was the same part of him that made him think things like turtleducks were cute and Water Tribe peasants like Katara didn't look as ugly as he'd been told growing up. It wasn't an entirely reliable part of himself but it was a strong enough part that he couldn't resist the urge to sneak looks at her when he thought she wasn't looking.

Just as she was finishing, Katara glanced out of the corner of her eye and caught Zuko looking at her as he dried a bowl. Well, staring actually, as though she was a puzzle and he couldn't figure out where all the pieces fit. She rinsed the bowl and handed it to him, smiling with the corner of her mouth. If he wanted to try and figure her out, let him. She wondered what the conclusion would be.

"What are you smiling about," he asked, taking the bowl from her and swiping it dry. He kept his eyes locked onto her as she turned away causally and shrugged.

"Nothing," she replied in a way that implied it was definitely something. She took the bowl from his hands and set it on top of the stack by the rice bowl. "Think you could warm up the rice? The others should be getting up soon and they'll be hungry."

He smirked at her and moved to warm the rice pot. "Do household chores always put you in such a good mood?"

With a long metal ladle Katara stirred the rice so it would be warmed evenly. "It depends on the company," she informed him. "Sokka is a platypus-bear to do dishes with. He never stops complaining." Katara rolled her eyes at the thought of working with her brother.

Zuko smiled. "And I'm not a complaining platypus-bear?"

"No, you're surprisingly pleasant to spend time with." She froze, realizing just what she'd said. Hurriedly, she added, "I mean, for being a prince and all, you don't really complain. Not like Sokka. And he's _not_ a prince."

He raised a questioning eyebrow at her. "So, you like spending time with me?"

"That's not what I'm saying."

"It isn't?"

"No, not at all. I'm just saying that you're better at household chores than Sokka is."

"Ahh," he responded, nodding his head knowingly. "I see."

"No, you don't," Katara huffed, standing and jabbing the ladle against his chest. "Now you're being patronizing."

"How do you know I don't completely understand," Zuko asked, backing away from the ladle with a wince. Katara came with him.

"Because," she replied forcefully, the ladle emphasizing her words. "You wouldn't be wearing that silly grin if you actually understood me." _Who did he think he was,_

Katara thought. He was making her so frustrated.

The water in the sink splashed, drawing Zuko's attention. What in the world…? "Um…Katara?"

"What?" She glared at him, brandishing the spoon like a weapon; the water sloshed out onto the floor.

"Don't you realize what you're doing?"

She looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. "Of course I know what I'm doing. I'm yelling at you! You've made me angry and I'm yelling at you! That's what I'm doing!"

The water rose up to the ceiling and fell in a shower all around them, leaving them thoroughly drenched and sputtering. Katara looked up at him, slightly shocked.

"Okay, I didn't know I was doing that." She gave small laugh.

Zuko, despite being soaked to the bone and convinced that his chest was bruising where Katara jabbed him with the ladle, laughed. It started as a low chuckle then grew until the room echoed with it. Katara blinked up at him. Maybe the water had jarred something loose in his head. Maybe he'd lost his mind, finally snapped.

"What in the world happened in here?"

Katara spun around and saw Sokka and Suki standing in the doorway eyeing the mess. Sokka, looking at the amount of water dripping from the ceiling and the various furniture in the room, came to the conclusion that Zuko had done something to be on the receiving end of his sister's wrath and glowered at him. Suki took in how close Katara was standing to the Fire Nation Prince and smiled knowingly. Katara, seeing Sokka's glare and Suki's smile stepped away from the manic Zuko and attempted to distract them. "Oh no, the rice is ruined." She turned to the meal she had made for everyone and frowned.

"What," Sokka exclaimed, nearly falling over himself to get to the toppled rice pot. Zuko only laughed harder; Katara glared fiercely at him. Suki pretended to be officially distracted; it wasn't her fault that her boyfriend was actually traumatized by the fact that the rice was, indeed, ruined.

"Don't worry Sokka, I'll make up a new batch in no time," Katara said, rolling her eyes at her brother. Zuko's laughter finally stopped and Katara turned to him. "And I think it's time you went back to bed, Zuko. You seem really tired," she implied about his laughing.

Zuko frowned. The last thing he felt like doing right now was going back to sleep where his mind could play tricks on him. He opened his mouth to argue with Katara but she interrupted him before he could hardly start.

"Zuko, as your healer, I'm telling you, you've been up all night and need more sleep. Thanks for your help," she said. Zuko let out his breath and mumbled a 'you're welcome' before stomping off. Katara sighed, hoping he wouldn't be too angry; stress would slow down his recovery.

Sokka sat down on one of the boulders and watched him leave with one eyebrow raised.

"What's his problem," he asked as Suki sat on his right side.

"Gee, I don't know, Sokka," Suki said sarcastically. "You always loved following a girl's directions."

He took her hand in his and studied it. "Oh, Suki, I'm different now. Girls are warriors just like men. Or, at least, some are," Sokka said in what he thought was a reassuring voice. Suki sighed at her boyfriend.

"I'm not talking about you, silly. Just because you listen to girls doesn't mean that he does," she explained, jabbing a thumb at the door through which Zuko had disappeared.

Sokka gave a little chuckle and crossed his arms, scoffing. "Oh, he listens to girls alright. In Ba Sing Se, he had no problem listening to a girl."

"That's enough, Sokka." Katara said forcefully, starting up the new pot of rice. "We agreed not to talk about it anymore."

Sokka frowned but obeyed. After all, Katara was the one in charge of making his food; he wanted to keep her happy.

"I've got some news for you. Iroh stopped by tonight…"

Zuko paced the floor of his room, refusing to go back to sleep. What did Katara know anyway? Why did she have to torture him like this? He'd been having perfectly fine time with her and then she'd sent him away. And it wasn't because Katara didn't like his company; she'd said she did. But she'd sent him away to his room, just as though he was a petulant child! The nerve!

Even though this was only Zuko's second day in the 'land of the living', he saw how motherly Katara was for the others. Was that how she saw him? As the new kid who needed to be taken care of?

Zuko sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. Just how tired he was hit him like a ton of bricks and his eyes drifting closed. _Dang her hide,_ he thought bitterly as he crawled under the small blanket provided in his room. _She was right._

Katara left Sokka, Suki, and, now, Toph and Aang in the kitchen a few moments later. They were talking about Iroh's visit and the news he brought. Katara had seen enough of the kitchen for now and was beginning to admit that she was worried about Zuko; he'd seemed so upset with her earlier.

She made her way up to his room to check on him. Now that Sokka knew about what Iroh had had to say, Katara didn't have to worry about telling anyone else; Sokka would make sure the word got passed around. He was good at that.

Katara tapped softly on Zuko's door; she'd hate to wake him if he'd actually taken her advice and tried to get some sleep. There was no answer. Katara pushed the door open slowly so it wouldn't make a loud creaking sound and stepped into the room.

Zuko lay asleep on the bed. It was the most peaceful Katara had ever seen him sleep. He wasn't tossing or turning but actually seemed happy as he lay there, perfectly still but for the rise and fall of his chest. Katara couldn't help but sit down in her chair beside his bed and stare at that peaceful face. It seemed as though Zuko was finally having a good dream.

She wondered if she could even dare to try to touch him while he was in this quiet state. Maybe she could, just to move his long, black hair out of his face. Katara thought it over in her head and then slowly reached forward. She almost did it but hesitated. What if he woke up? But, before the thought could really take root, she reached out and tenderly moved the hair off his face.

Katara pulled her hand back slowly and sighed, shivers running up and down her spine; it had felt good to do that and she smiled. She reached for Zuko's hair again, petting it and sifting it through her fingers. Then, eventually, she started twirling the black strands around her index finger slowly, contemplating it. It was soft, like Appa. No, Appa's fur was too course. No, his hair was more like Momo's only longer. Much more silky—

"Having fun, Katara," she heard him whisper. Katara gasped and pulled her hand back to her mouth to see Zuko staring up at her with one eye open and his rare smile on his face.

Katara stayed frozen in shock as Zuko rolled over onto his back and opened both eyes to stare at her. It was a long pause of his smiling at her and her frozen shock.

_What was I thinking? Why did I have to do that,_ Katara thought frantically, trying to find a way to explain this to him, something that he'd believe.

"Well?" Zuko said. Katara blinked.

"W-well, what?" Maybe he wouldn't really want an answer.

"You haven't answered my question. Were you having fun?"

Katara, flustered and blushing, reached for her own hair to fiddle with.

"I-I-well, you see-um-I…" she stammered, her eyes darting everywhere but Zuko's face. Zuko sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, staring at her as she fumbled with her words. "I can explain this."

"I'm sure you can," he replied, leaning forward. There was something indescribably pretty about her when she was uncomfortable: the high color in her dusky skin, her blue eyes shining brightly. "I'm waiting."

"I was," she started, finally looking at him. She started at finding him so close; her train of thought flew out the window. She tried to grasp at it, to bring her perfect explanation back into focus but to no avail. He was simply sitting too close to her; he took over all her senses until she was left wondering if there was anything else in the world.

"Yes," he prompted. Her mouth was hanging open slightly and her bright eyes were staring at him in surprise. "You were…"

"I was taking care of you," she breathed, leaning away from him and putting distance between them. With that distance came clarity and she was able to grasp her explanation again. "I'm your healer and therefore I'm to take care of you."

He smirked, an eyebrow arching questioningly. "And taking care of me entails running your fingers through my hair?"

Even as the blood rushed to her face, she held her chin up in defiance. "Yes. It's comforting to some people."

Zuko looked thoughtful for a moment then laid back down on his back. "Well, I wasn't complaining."

Katara blinked at him. Was he serious?

He pulled the blanket back over his chest and looked at her expectantly. "You're my healer right? You're supposed to be making me feel comfortable?"

She nodded dumbly.

"Well, then," he smirked. "Having someone run their fingers through my hair does have a comforting effect. Do you think you could do that for me, Madam Healer?"

Again, she nodded dumbly, unable to believe this was truly happening. Would he ever stop surprising her? She leaned forward in her chair and hesitantly reached out. Her fingers paused a few inches above his hair and she stared down at him.

His eyes were already closed, his breathing already even. Maybe he'd fallen asleep. He wouldn't realize if she just left, leaving him as he slept.

Zuko heard her get up and go to the door. He should've known better. Of course she wouldn't do something as silly as run her fingers through his hair again. Especially after she knew that he'd know she was doing it. He rolled over onto his side when he heard the door closed. _It would never work._

Katara stood at the door, watching him for a moment. Could she really do this? He was the Fire Nation's prince; he was going to be Fire Lord one day! How could she ever be more to him than the Water Tribe girl who traveled with the Avatar? Could they ever even be friends? More than friends?

The idea flickered to life in her head. She saw herself sitting by his side as he ruled the Fire Nation. He smiled at her, held her hand, kissed her. Katara shook her head. No, that could never be. He'd marry someone of higher rank, a Fire Nation noble's daughter at the very least. Princes didn't marry peasant girls.

But, maybe, just for a while, she could pretend. If…if she didn't let herself get too involved, didn't allow herself to care too much. Yes, she could do that. And then, when the war was over and they went their separate ways, she could still be his friend. It could work.

Zuko felt the bed shift as a weight settled upon it. He felt her fingers slipping through his hair and smiled. _Maybe,_ he thought. _Just maybe this could work._

* * *

Author's Comments

completely ignoring the fluff at the end  
Lurisa: Man, that arguing! I don't know, these kids may never get along! Let alone fall in love and get married!  
Simatra: I know Lurisa, it just seems like these two hate each other too much to _ever_ even kiss!

-ending saracasm-

We didn't scare you, did we? big grin Don't worry, we're still DIE-HARD Zutarians, nothing will sway us! salute

Lurisa: I suppose we should say something about the hair? But it seems pretty self-explainitory.  
Simatra: Well, we can say I wrote that bit! nods Except the Appa/Momo comparason, that goes to--  
Lurisa: ME! Horray!

cough Suki knows...remember this!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Avatar: the Last Airbender and its characters belong to Mike and Bryan. We are doing this for the pure enjoyment and Zutara fangirlness.

**Chapter Seven**  
Zuko heard birds singing outside his room. Trying to hear better, he shifted.  
"Mmm…"  
Looking toward the unhappy hum, he was surprised to see Katara asleep, her face scrunched in protest and her head resting on his chest. The late afternoon sun was shining through the window in his room, touching her skin with its glow and turning it a dusty gold color. Her dark hair shone brilliantly, falling in a red-gold curtain over his arm; wonderingly, he twisted a strand around his finger.  
Her face smoothed into a smile and she nestled deeper into his side, tilting her face up and wrapping a long, golden arm around his waist. "Hmm…" she sighed, her breath dancing up his neck.  
Zuko reached over and brushed her hair away with the backs of his fingers, letting them linger on her warm face. Smiling down at her, he rested his head back against his pillow, holding her gently.  
He would've been perfectly content to lay there for the rest of his life with her in his arms but, inevitably, there came quiet voices down the hall. Listening closely, he could pick out some of the conversation.  
"…Katara…time…likes…room…"  
Reluctantly, Zuko sighed heavily and rested his hand on Katara's shoulder, shaking her gently. "Katara," he whispered.  
"Hmm…?" She turned her face into his chest, her mumbling vibrating against him.  
"Katara, it's time to wake up."  
She looked up at him, her eyes blinking in the sunlight, and smiled sleepily; Zuko felt his heart stop. For the briefest instance, her face was entirely unguarded, radiating a contentment that he'd never seen before.  
Then, the moment shattered as her brows lowered in confusion and she blinked at him again. Her eyes snapped open wide, all signs of sleepiness gone and she fought to pull herself away from him. "I'm sorry," she breathed, rolling away…  
…and right off the edge of the bed.  
"Oww…" he heard her moan as he sat up and looked at her.  
"Are you okay?"  
She glared up at him.  
There was a soft knock; Katara pushed herself upright as the door swung open to reveal Hakoda and Sokka. "Katara! I didn't expect you to be here."  
Sokka glared from Zuko to Katara accusingly, as though he knew exactly what was going on even if his father didn't.  
"I was just leaving," Katara stated, getting to her feet and dusting herself off. Glancing at Zuko for a fraction of a second, she headed toward the door, blushing.  
Her father stopped her, "No, it's good that you're here. We have something we need to discuss."  
Katara turned around and headed back for her chair beside the bed, wishing she could escape Zuko's gaze. _How could I have fallen asleep?_ She mentally kicked herself in the head.  
Zuko looked away from Katara's disgruntled face and leaned against the wall to look up at Chief Hakoda and Sokka.  
"It's a good thing you're here, Katara," Sokka said. "Since you're his healer, you should have a say in this."  
Katara tilted her head in confusion. "What is it," she asked, pushing away her embarrassment.  
Hakoda took over the explanation. "In order for us to continue with our plan, we need Zuko to start training your friend, Aang, in Firebending. We only have a month before it's time to leave." Hakoda looked at Zuko. "When do you think you will be strong enough to help?"  
Zuko stood up quickly. "I'm ready now. I can help—arrgh!" He contradicted his words by clutching his side and sinking back onto the bed. He was dizzy; he had stood up to fast for the blood to flow properly.  
Katara shook her head. "Lay back down, Zuko," she said, getting up to help him. "He's not ready yet. I'd give it a few more days before Zuko should try to Firebend again," she told her father and disgruntled brother.  
Zuko looked away, ashamed. He wanted to help. It felt terrible just lying around and having Katara watching his every move for signs of fatigue or weakness.  
"You're the healer, Katara," her father said with a sigh. "You know what's best."  
"But we need to hurry," Sokka fretted. "If Aang isn't trained to the best he can be—"  
Hakoda shook his head. "We know Sokka. And your sister is doing the best that she can. The Avatar will be trained in time," he replied encouragingly. With that, they left, discussing plans and procedures with each other.  
Katara bit her lower lip, watching the door close. Zuko was in danger of hurting himself further; she didn't want to take that chance. On the other hand, a month of training for Aang wasn't much. Amazing as the young Avatar was with the elements, Katara wasn't sure how much could be accomplished in the time Zuko would be able to work with him.  
The more Zuko thought about it, the more he realized just how weak he must look to everyone. He felt like such a burden to them anyway without being completely useless as well. Zuko fought to sit back up but Katara placed a hand on his chest and gently pushed him back down even as he glared up at her.  
"Now's not the time for you to feel bad about yourself," she told him firmly, as though reading his mind. Zuko looked away from her, choosing instead to glare fiercely at the wall. "I'm not going to allow you to get worse because of your foolish pride."  
"My pride," Zuko asked disbelievingly; Katara blinked. "Katara, I'm just a burden to all of you. I am useless and I am weak. Not to mention I've been imprisoned by my own nation. What pride could I possibly have left?"  
Katara crinkled her nose at him. "Well, being banished didn't do anything to your pride. I didn't think this would affect it either," she told him sternly. Zuko thought to argue back but, instead, looked away angrily and crossed his arms defiantly over his chest.  
Katara sighed, "Zuko, the only reason I'm stopping you is because it's important for you to get better as soon as possible. I don't want you risking your life simply because you feel useless."  
Zuko wished they could go back to a few minutes ago, when Katara was in his arms sleeping blissfully. It had been so simple then and the quiet had been a peaceful one. But not now, no, now the silence between them was heavy and tense, as though each waited for the other to do something rash. Katara eventually moved from her chair to the door.  
"If you're hungry later, come out to the clearing. But, right now, I want you to get more rest," she instructed quietly.  
"I've been sleeping all day," Zuko protested, exasperated, but Katara continued out the door and down the hall. He was left staring bitterly out the window and wishing the singing birds that he thought were so wonderful earlier would just shut up and be quiet.

Katara went straight to the little garden, settling on the edge of the fountain and playing idly with the rippling water. _What is wrong with me,_ she thought, pulling water out of the fountain and rolling it between her hands before letting it fall back into the pool with a small splash. She didn't understand what it was that made her worry so much about Zuko. He _could_ show Aang some of the basics, just the forms maybe, until he tired. It would at least give Aang an introduction to Firebending, something he could practice between sessions, while Zuko was resting.  
But Zuko would never admit to being tired. He was too proud and too obstinate; he'd insist that he pull his own weight no matter what. She knew he felt dishonorable sleeping most of the day, as though he was taking advantage of them all and their hospitality.  
"What are you thinking about, Katara?"  
Katara looked up to see Toph standing in the clearing. "Nothing," she replied softly, turning back to the water. She pulled more out and moved it around her hands.  
Toph crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't need my feet to tell me that you're lying. What's the matter?"  
Katara smiled a small smile, watching the water twining about her fingers. "I don't know really. I just feel…uneasy."  
Toph stomped the ground and a cylinder of earth jumped up, creating a seat for her. She sat down and leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees. "Why?"  
"I don't know," Katara answered, absent-mindedly working the water between her hands. "Maybe I'm just worried about Aang learning Firebending."  
"Isn't Zuko going to train him? He's one of the best Firebenders I've ever seen." Katara scoffed and Toph glared at her sarcastically. "You know what I mean."  
"Yeah, I know," Katara said. "But he's not strong enough yet to Firebend. He's just not well enough and I don't want him to hurt himself anymore."  
"Couldn't he at least show Aang the forms?"  
"He could, but he'd never admit when he was tired," she explained exasperatedly, standing and pulling more water out of the pool. "And he wouldn't stop with just showing Aang the forms. He doesn't want us to think he's weak."  
Toph grinned. "No, he doesn't want _you_ to think he's weak."  
The water splashed at Katara's feet. "_What?_"  
"You're the one who's been spending all this time with him—"  
"I'm his healer!"  
"—and you haven't seen him complaining," Toph continued as if Katara hadn't interrupted.  
"That's the craziest thing I've ever heard, Toph,"  
"Is it?" Toph stood up and the rock sank back into the ground. "Here he comes."  
Katara spun toward the entrance just as Zuko came around the corner, an arm wrapped around his middle. "You're supposed to be resting," she scolded, going to his side as he straightened up and dropped his arm to his side.  
"I'm fine," he hissed, glaring down at her. "And I'm tired of resting. I want to do something. Anything."  
Katara returned his glare, her hands fisted on her hips. "You need to go back to your room. You could injure yourself again and then we'd be right back to where we started and you wouldn't be able to train Aang as soon as we'd anticipated."  
Toph left the clearing, slipping by the arguing duo unnoticed.  
"If I don't do something, Katara, I'm going to go mad!" Zuko threw his hands over his head and promptly regretted it as pain shot up his side. "_Gah!_"  
Katara watched as he clutched at his side and shook her head. "I'm telling you, Zuko, you're in no condition to be doing anything. Now come on, I'll help you back to bed."  
Zuko crinkled his nose and straightened. "I'm okay! Let me do something!"  
"No," she shouted back. "It's foolish and unnecessary and I'll not have you hurting yourself because you insist on being stubborn. Now, do you want my help or are you going hobble back to your room by yourself?"  
He glowered down at her, his eyes narrowed to angry slits. "I said I'm fine."  
She looked up at him fiercely. "And I'm saying that you're not. Now back to bed."  
"And if I don't go?"  
"I'm your healer! You _will_ do as I say!"  
"And I am Prince of the Fire Nation. I will not be ordered around by some…some…"  
"Water Tribe peasant," Katara spit out, poking a finger against his chest. "I'll have you know that this _peasant_ is the reason you're even alive! I saved your sorry excuse of a life!" Zuko took a step back from her as the anger boiled over, the fountain behind her reacting to her rage. "You are so ungrateful!"  
"I didn't ask to be saved," he hissed, leaning in toward her.  
"Oh trust me, if I could do it over again, I'd have taken Sokka's advice and left you there to _rot!_"  
The water lashed out at him, knocking him onto his back. He looked up at Katara fuming above him, the water circling around her body, her chest heaving with her wrath.  
"You know what," Katara said slowly, her voice strained and her eyes narrowed as she scowled down at him. "I don't even care anymore. Do what you want. You obviously will do as you please anyway."  
And she stormed away, the ring of water splashing to the ground where she had stood.

* * *

Author's Comments

YAY! ZUTARA ARGUEMENT!!spazz :faint:

Notice the _rot_ line...have you read that in any of our comments before? Because we've mentioned it quite often.

And who loved the opening of Chapter Seven? Because that was fun! :w00t:  
Lurisa: SQUEEEE...!! Smexy!!  
Simatra: Calm down Lurisa...we don't want them getting the wrong idea...For those who don't know, Katara just fell asleep.  
Lurisa: ON HIS CHEST!! He has a smexy chest!! spazz  
Simatra: shakes head please. Don't listen to her...  
Lurisa: running around in background singingSMEXY CHEST! ZUKO HAS A SMEXY CHEST!!  
Simatra: :Oo:Um, ...Lurisa runs into wall rolls eyes Well, that shut her up...  
Lurisa: Hey, who turned out the lights?  
Simatra: :XD: ANYWAY!! Next chapter, next week. Be there or be square!  
Lurisa: Why not a pentagon? There are more corners...  
Simatra: facepalm

Avatar (c) Mike and Bryan  
Storyline (c) Simatra and Lurisa

Lurisa: Seriously, why not a pentagon?  
Simatra: Oh shut up!  
Lurisa: And what if I don't?  
Simatra: I'm your writing buddy, you WILL do as I say!! ...Or else :fork:  
Lurisa: rubs forehead Okay, that hurt. :fork: How do you like it?!...sees blood Is that...gulp...blood? :faint:  
Simatra: bleeding forehead :evil laugh:


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender and all it's characters belong to Mike and Bryan. And, if Nick got around to curing our AWS, we would no longer have to kidnap their wonderful characters, warp their minds, and force them to do our bidding. Hint, hint.

Enjoy reading!

**Chapter Eight**

"Gahhh!" Zuko rolled over and punched the ground, flames shooting from his fist. How could he have been so stupid? She'd done nothing but show him kindness and he'd thrown it back at her like he had her trust in Ba Sing Se. Could he do nothing right when it came to her?

But she could be infuriating! The way she hovered, watching his every move was so…so…_ahhh!_

And now he'd have to somehow pull his foot out of his mouth and go apologize. Again.

He buried his head in his arms. It seemed like he was always apologizing to her, trying to make amends for something stupid that he'd done. It was always two steps forward, one giant leap back for them.

"Having troubles?"

He glanced up to see Sokka standing over him, a smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. "And if I am," Zuko asked, sitting up with some difficulty.

Sokka plopped down on the ground beside him. "Maybe I can help."

"I doubt it," Zuko mumbled.

"Just tell old Sokka what the problem is," Sokka replied.

Zuko sighed. "It's your exasperating sister. She insists on watching my every move. It's like I'm back in prison and she's my warden."

"Ah," Sokka said knowingly nodding his head. "Is she giving orders?" Zuko nodded. "Did she give her motherly look? The one where she puts her hands on her hips and shakes her head?"

Zuko nodded again. "And she made the fountain go crazy."

"Yep, good luck recovering from this."

Zuko looked over at him. "Aren't you supposed to be helping?"

Sokka sighed and patted his shoulder. "Zuko, you are in big trouble. I'm afraid the only way to recover from this is to go find her, say you're sorry, ask what you can do to make it right, and then do what she asks without putting up a fight. And, trust me, you're going to hate doing it. I know I do."

"I take it she's been mad at you too."

"Oh yes. Extremely mad."

"Well, might as well get this over with," Zuko said with a sigh as he looked away and pushed himself stiffly to his feet. "Do you know where I can find her?"

Sokka shook his head. "No idea. I think that's part of the fun. She gets some sort of sick pleasure out of making us look high and low for her."

Zuko grimaced. "Well, here I go. If I'm not back by supper, can I trust you to send out reinforcements? She may have killed me."

"Don't worry," Sokka said getting to his feet. "I'll make sure you receive a proper burial."

"Thanks," he replied with a weak smile and he limped off in search of Katara.

"Of all the—" Katara kicked a stone. It bounced off a wall with a whoomp and went skittering down the hall in front of her. "He's the most arrogant—"

"Pigheaded, annoying, bad-tempered…"

Katara spun around to see Zuko shuffling toward her. "You…you…" she stuttered, jabbing a finger at him.

"I should be resting," he breathed heavily, leaning against the wall. "I'm beginning to wonder why I'm not."

Katara hurried to his side as he winced and slid down the wall into a sitting position, her healer instincts taking over. "Here, drink this."

He took the offered water skin and did as she said. "Thank you."

She nodded and slung the water skin back over her shoulder. "You're welcome."

"I came…" he paused, his brow furrowing. "I came to apologize. I just…I just have a hard time taking orders and I don't like being in that room for hours on end; it's too much like the prison cell."

Katara blinked at him. "I never thought of that. Would you like a different room? I'm sure there's a larger one with more windows. It'd be no problem to move you there."

"No," he replied with a small smile. "That's alright. I've gotten used to it."

"You don't always have to rest there, I suppose. There are some lovely gardens. They'd be more open than your room."

"I'd like that," Zuko said, leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes.

Katara sat beside him. "Zuko?"

"Hmm?"

She bit her lip. "Do you really think of me as a Water Tribe peasant?"

He cracked one eye open and glanced at her. "Do you really wish you'd left me behind in the prison?"

"Of course not," she exclaimed. "I was angry and I sometimes say things I don't mean."

"Yet another thing we have in common. And, for the record, I didn't call you a peasant. You thought that's what I was thinking."

"And what were you thinking?"

Zuko closed his eyes again. "It's not important."

"What was it, Zuko?"

"Katara," he said slowly. "If I tell you, you'll only get upset with me again and I don't want to start shouting with you."

Katara folded her arms crossly, looking away for a moment. Then her anger faded away and she turned back to him. "So, I guess I was being a little harsh too. I'm sorry, Zuko." Katara bit her lip. She never expected to hear herself say those words.

Zuko looked at her. "It's okay." Then he sighed, suddenly serious as his brow furrowed. "But you've got to stop treating me like a kid though. I'm not a child who needs looking after."

"I do not," Katara exclaimed. "You are my patient, so you need to listen to me when it concerns your health!" Her temper was rising again.

"Look," Zuko said. "How about we make a deal? I promise to follow your orders if you promise to let me have more freedom." He held out his hand for her to shake. Katara looked at it skeptically before taking his hand and shaking it.

"Alright, deal," Katara agreed steadily. "But, right now, I want you to go back to sleep. You need it."

Zuko nodded briefly and let Katara help him up. He refused to let her help him to his room though; he toughed it out. Something in Zuko told him that that was what he needed to do, he would get there by himself.

Katara shut the door to Zuko's room quietly, walking down the hall and back to the clearing. There, she met Toph and sat down with her friend as she played idly with the meteor rock Sokka had given her.

"How'd it go," Toph asked, changing the shape of the rock like clay. Katara sighed and held her head in hands.

"Fine, I think we've come to some agreement," Katara replied.

Toph nodded slowly. "Katara, the way you two argue--is there something between you two? What exactly happened in that cave back at Ba Sing Se?" Toph waited for Katara to answer.

"It's a long story," Katara murmured, trying to avoid the question. So far, no one had asked her this. It seemed like they all agreed to not to bring it up.

"Well, I've got nothing else to do," Toph implied, putting her rock back around her wrist and listening to Katara.

Katara decided that she would have to tell Toph. She explained everything, how Zuko had apologized to her, told her about his mother, and then how she offered to heal his scar. Toph listened closely, not making a sound. Katara ended, "Then he betrayed us, Zuko had betrayed our trust and helped his sister." It was a painful memory to bring to the surface--she'd had a hard time not thinking about it while Zuko had been unconscious, completely at her mercy--but Katara kept her head about things.

"Well," Toph said, "it seems as though the only one he betrayed with you, Katara. None of us had expected him to fight for us except you." Katara blinked at Toph.

"I'm glad you guys have come to an agreement though."

Zuko woke up with the early morning sun shining into his room. He had slept through yesterday. He sat up and stretched, he would get out of his room today.

Maybe he could somehow find ways to help out without Katara noticing. Small things. Zuko's head was clearer then it had been before and as he stood up, his muscles reminded him that even though he was getting better, he still wasn't ready to tackle anything too big. He walked out of the room, remembering how Katara and him fought yesterday. _And she had been right…Again._ He hated that, but now at least he would be able to roam more freely.

The clearing was packed with people, the eclipse warriors, the Avatar's group. Zuko looked around for Katara; with all these people, she was the only one he felt truly comfortable around.

"Zuko! There you are!" He heard Katara call out for him, a slight edge in her voice. Zuko turned to face her. "I was just in your room to find you had already gone!"

Zuko narrowed his eyes, "What? Do I need permission to leave my own room?"

Katara stopped and blinked, rubbing her head slowly, "Of course not. I'm sorry, it's been a busy morning," she sighed. "Come on, let's get some breakfast."

Relieved that they avoided another argument, Zuko followed Katara into the crowd of people warily.

As Katara grabbed their breakfast, Sokka, Aang, and Suki joined Zuko and Katara as they ate. Sokka was taking large bites at a time and talking, something Katara really disapproved of but made no mention of it.

"Sokka, slow down," Suki sighed with a slight smile on her face. "Your food isn't going anywhere."

Aang laughed at Sokka as he closed his mouth and quickly swallowed, then nearly choked. Katara rolled her eyes at her brother but gave a small smile.

Katara then looked over to Zuko who had eaten all his rice already and looked uncomfortable around the laughing group. "Um, Zuko, I still think it would be a good idea if you kept it simple today." Zuko looked up at her. "You don't have to stay in your room of course, but maybe it would be a good idea to stay in the gardens."

Zuko frowned, _looks like she still gets her way._ "Alright," he sighed. Zuko remembered Sokka's words. _Don't fight, just do what she tells you without complaining._ He didn't think he wanted to deal with Katara right now, so he got up and started to leave.

Katara watched Zuko go and felt an urge to go after him; but she stayed where she was and watched until Zuko was out of sight.

"What's Zuko's problem," Aang asked.

Sokka scoffed, "What isn't his problem would be easier to answer." Sokka gobbled another bite of rice.

"Sokka, it wouldn't kill you to try and make friends, you know," Suki said, "he seems like a nice enough guy to me."

Sokka turned to her, astounded. "But Suki, he burned down Kyoshi! Don't you remember?"

"Of course I do, Sokka, but that's in the past. Kyoshi is restored and I don't think Zuko's the same person he was."

Katara looked down at her hands. "You're right, Suki. But in many ways he is still the same person. I think he just has some different views on things now," Katara explained.

"And when did you become such a Zuko expert?" Sokka laughed at his own joke.

"Gee, I don't know, maybe it was all that time I spent in his room, praying that he wouldn't die." Katara glared at her brother. Sokka shut up and distracted himself with eating his rice.

Zuko sat on a bench in the garden, looking at the flowers and thankful for the peace. He inhaled the scent of them and sighed; it reminded him of the palace. The garden there was so peaceful; he couldn't believe he still remembered it. The heavenly scent also brought to mind his mother. _She's still alive after all…_

Suddenly, a door opened and the Avatar walked by him. Aang gave Zuko a brief look and smiled nervously, "I'm just passing through here," he said.

As Aang passed, Zuko got an idea. He looked quickly around the clearing; no one else was around. He considered it. _Katara would kill me._

Zuko smiled. "Hey, Aang! Wait up!"

The Avatar turned around as Zuko walked up to him. "What is it, Zuko?"

"Well, I thought it would be a good idea if I showed you some basic Firebending forms. You know, since we don't have much time to train."

Aang grinned broadly, then something occurred to him and his smile turned into a frown. "But didn't Kat--"

"Trust me, I won't hurt myself," Zuko said quickly, trying to be as convincing as possible, "I won't even Firebend, I'll just tell you want you need to do, okay?"

Aang thought about in for a few minutes then conceded. "Okay, Sifu Zuko!"

Zuko frowned; worry edged his voice. "Um, you better not call me that."

Simatra: Wait, did Zuko just think about Katara killing him, then smiling??

Lurisa: Zuko's masochistic! He sounds like a certain vampire I know and love! Horray Edward!  
Simatra: Ah,...Edward..._anyway_, so Zuko wants to bring himself pain and decides to teach Aang, against Katara's orders. He doesn't really think these things through very hard, does he?  
Lurisa: Sounds like a pair of crazies I'm very familar with...  
Simatra: Are you implying something??  
Lurisa: Well, I did spontaniously decide to paint a mural that covers all the walls in my "office". And I don't remember thinking it through...  
Simatra: That was apparent...cough So, the argument at the beggining was _sort of_ solved...  
Lurisa: Right, back on topic! Er...yes, you said it, Simatra. Argument solved! This is good!  
Simatra: Yes...worries about how long that will last So, be expecting Chapter Nine next week! And soon, there will be a video, made by myself, about Good Enough. This will also contain some spoilers!  
Lurisa: Horray video!  
Simatra: How many times will you say "Horray" in these comments?  
Lurisa: Just once more. HORRAY!!  
Simatra: is blown over with enthusiasm


	9. Chapter 9

_**Disclaimer:** Avatar: The Last Airbender and all its characters are the property of Mike and Bryan. We are getting nothing from this but the enjoyment of writing it and reading the lovely reviews._

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

"Okay, that's good. Now you just want to make sure you're breathing correctly," Zuko instructed. Aang took a deep breath and tried again, moving through the form swiftly and punching a small flame into the air.

"Like that," Aang asked, worrying his brow and praying he got it right.

Zuko frowned. _This would much easier if I could just show him, _he thought bitterly. "You're doing good; you're a talented kid. But I think we should stop for today." _Katara will want to check up on me soon, _he almost added.

"Thank you, Sifu Zuko! I can't wait to show everyone!" Aang smiled brightly.

"No!" Zuko's hand reached out to grab Aang's arm. He turned the kid around to face him and shook his head, "Unless you want to lose your Firebending teacher, I suggest you not tell _anyone_, alright," Zuko explained.

"Oh," Aang sighed. "Right. Can't tell anyone."

"You've got the idea," Zuko said.

Zuko watched Aang leave and, as soon as the young monk was out of sight, he stiffly lowered himself to the ground. Leaning back, he closed his eyes, letting the afternoon sun warm his face. It felt good to be doing something useful, even if it was a little thing and, though his muscles burned with the small effort, it was comforting for him. It felt familiar somehow.

A small smile pulled at his mouth and he breathed deeply, inhaling the smell of cool water and sun-baked earth.

He felt a shadow fall over him. His eyes snapped open, his body moving to push himself into a defensive position before he even comprehended who he was looking up at.

At once his body relaxed and he fell back onto his back with a sigh. "You should know better than to sneak up on a Firebender."

Katara sat down beside him, a small smile tugging up the corner of her mouth. "I thought you were resting."

He felt his eye drifting closed and he yawned. He hadn't been this tired a moment ago. Why was her presence so calming to him? "You should still be careful. I don't want to hurt you on accident."

Katara looked down at him. His eyes were closed and his breathing was deep and even. Why did she always make him go to sleep? Was she really that tiresome? _But,_ she reasoned. _I shouldn't complain. I do want him to rest._

"You shouldn't stare," she heard him mumble. He was half asleep already and hardly audible.

"I thought you were asleep," she replied. Her fingers begged to be allowed to run through his hair again; she folded them tightly in her lap to avoid temptation.

"Is that why you came looking for me?" He opened his eyes and blinked up at her, curious.

She smirked. "I was just wondering if you would follow the healer's orders. But I can see I've disturbed you so I'll leave you to your nap."

Zuko winced as she spoke, feeling oddly guilty for deceiving her; Zuko looked away and gnawed at his lower lip as she stood and brushed herself off. "Katara," he started with every intention of telling her everything. He wanted to tell her that he hadn't really been resting as she'd instructed, that he'd actually been training Aang, but, as soon as she looked down at him, he knew he couldn't finish. She trusted him and he wasn't about to lose that wonderful gift again. Instead, he hurriedly thought of something and asked, "Will you stay? Please?"

Katara blinked down at him. She really should be going to help Suki with supper; the Kyoshi warrior might be amazing with those fans of hers but with Sokka around to distract her, she couldn't be trusted with the rice. It was sure to burn; but she didn't really want to leave either. _Funny,_ she thought idly. _I used to flee at the sight of him and now I can't seem to leave his side._

Since Zuko had finally became conscious, Katara's work load had increased. Not that she was complaining--she knew that she needed to help out--it was just that she, well, she missed not being able to spend long hours with Zuko. The problem was she couldn't, for the life of her, figure out exactly why. She did have a general idea; they were friends and friends enjoyed spending time together. Or was it not that simple?

"Katara?" His voice called her back to reality as she shook her head and looked back down at Zuko. He was looking up at her, something like worry in his amber eyes. "What's wrong?"

Katara gave him a rueful smile. "Nothing," she answered absently, fingering the necklace at her throat. "I've got to go help Suki with the rice. Get some rest, okay?"

Zuko nodded and watched her hurry away.

* * *

"Is something burning?"

Katara blinked at her brother before looking at the huge pot of rice in front of her. "Gah," she exclaimed, stirring the rice like mad. It stuck slightly to the bottom of the pot. She'd been thinking about Zuko again, wondering if he had felt snubbed when she'd left him earlier. Before today, the two of them were hardly separated but it seemed as though she hadn't spent more than a few minutes with him since waking this morning. And she couldn't figure out why it bothered her so much. She began to mumble under breath. "I can't believe I burnt the rice! How Suki-ish of me..."

Suki and Sokka gazed at her questioningly as she tried to salvage the rice.

"Are you okay," Suki asked laying a gentle hand on Katara's shoulder. "You seem kind of out of it."

"What? No, I'm fine," Katara answered dismissively. "Just tired, I guess."

"You have been working hard lately," Sokka commented as his eyes followed Suki's movements about the room, watching her help Katara prepare supper. "Maybe you should take a break tomorrow. You know, practice Waterbending or something."

Katara sighed. "I _have_ been practicing Waterbending. With Aang."

"But that's training. When was the last time you practiced your bending for yourself," Suki asked, dropping beside Sokka. Katara blinked at them, trying to remember the last time she'd Waterbent for relaxation. It had been quite awhile, what with healing Zuko and training Aang.

"Gah! Don't burn the rice!" Sokka jumped to his feet and, grabbing the spoon away from Katara, he began stirring. Then he looked at her pointedly. "You have the day off tomorrow. If I hear so much as a whisper that you did any work, there'll be hell to pay." He began muttering under his breath. "Imagine burning the food! What a waste!"

Suki hugged Sokka around his middle and laughed. "Oh, Sokka. You're such a drama queen."

Sokka frowned slightly. "I am not, I just don't want the food burned." Suki and Katara gave each other a look and busted out laughing, "It's not funny," Sokka said begrudgingly.

* * *

Zuko woke up in the garden with the heavenly scent of the flowers and his stomach growled impatiently. He looked up to see how dark it was getting. _It's late afternoon. They'll all be by the campfire by now,_ he thought. Zuko's back and neck were sore from sleeping on the ground; he pushed himself up and made for the large clearing where he was sure everyone would be.

Aang was going to be a great Firebender. Zuko was sure of it. In one lesson he had been able to get Aang to produce some fire and he'd gotten the general idea of it. Once Zuko would be able to properly train him, it would be a matter of days before the Avatar had the basics. Katara would be impressed.

Something gnawed at Zuko's stomach that wasn't hunger. He was pretty sure it was guilt. He hated keeping it from Katara, but he didn't see how telling her at this point would work out for the better. _Hopefully, Aang and _

_I can keep this a secret until she says I'm fit to be teaching him. No one gets hurt, and everyone's happy._ Plus, he may as well take advantage of the situation as long as it was in his control.

As he walked into the clearing, a couple of heads turned towards him but almost everybody kept to what they were doing. Zuko liked that about this group; he didn't feel singled out or different from everyone else, but he still preferred to spend his time with Katara. He defiantly was most comfortable around her. Zuko spotted Katara and the guilt clawed at his stomach again but he walked up to her and the large pot of rice.

"Is rice the only thing you peasants eat," Zuko asked as he walked up behind her. She turned and glared at him for a moment then realized he was joking.

"You really need to learn how to tell a joke; I can't tell if your serious or not sometimes," she said, turning back to the rice and stirring it before scooping him out a bowl. "I was about to come get you, but apparently, I don't have to now." She grabbed a bowl for herself and walked over to where Sokka, Suki, and Hakoda were all sitting.

"What's it like where you live, Suki." Katara heard her father ask.

Suki swallowed her bite of rice, "Well, it doesn't get terribly warm there except in the middle of summer. Not anything like in the Fire Nation or northern Earth Kingdom. The weather is pretty unpredictable most of the time actually, but it's a rather beautiful island." She sighed. "I miss it sometimes."

Katara's father nodded sadly. "We all miss our homes."

Katara sat beside her father and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder before turning to her rice and starting to eat.

Zuko sat beside Sokka and observed everything quietly, taking small, measured bites of rice. Ever since that day he threw up, he had been careful about his food and how he ate it. Seeing Katara's brother shove spoonfuls into his mouth was enough to make him feel queasy.

"So, Prince Zuko," Hakoda said, turning to him. Zuko swallowed his rice and looked up at the Water Tribe chief. "Where are all the places you've been? Sokka's told me about your chasing after them, but what about before that," he asked.

Zuko blinked as heads turned his direction. He set the rice bowl down beside him and coughed into his hand. "Well, I've been lots of places. I've been to all the Air Temples, then my Uncle and I searched--" he paused. _We scoured the Air Temples then went south. _"We, um, went to the Southern Water Tribe soon after that."

"I see," Hakoda said as Zuko picked up his rice bowl and stuffed a bite unto his mouth, trying to discourage talking. He instantly wished he hadn't but forced himself to swallow, coughing slightly.

Sokka finished his rice and stretched. "A messenger hawk arrived earlier today," he said to Katara. "It was from Master Piandao! He's coming in a few days. I can't for you to meet him, Dad."

Hakoda nodded, smiling. "I'm excited to meet Master Piandao."

Sokka pulled out his sword that was strapped to his belt. "Sometimes I can still hardly believe I made this," he sighed, holding the blade in his hand. "I wish I had someone to practice with." Sokka shrugged and placed the sword back in the sheath.

Zuko looked at the blade for a few more seconds before speaking up. "I could, if I had my broadswords."

"You? Sword fight? Yeah, right. Why would you learn how to sword fight," Sokka said laughing.

Zuko frowned and glared. "Some people don't like Firebenders, if you haven't noticed."

Sokka's laughing stopped with a cough and he thought for a moment. "Maybe Piandao will have something you can use," he said hopefully.

Katara crossed her arms. "What makes you think you can sword fight, Zuko?" He turned to her with narrowed eyes. "If you can't teach Aang Firebending, what makes you think I'm going to let you train with Sokka?"

Zuko looked away then turned back to her. "Maybe by the time this Master shows up I'll be better," he explained.

"Yeah, well enough to _maybe_ teach Aang, but not to sword fight on top of that!"

"If I get tired, I'll quit!

"No, you won't," she said simply, then rubbed her temples and sighed. "Maybe. We'll see." She paused, then stood and hugged her father. "I'm off to bed; I'm really tired."

"Alright," Sokka said, then he remembered. "Don't forget you are forbidden to work tomorrow," he reminded her harshly.

Zuko looked from Sokka to Katara. "What?"

Sokka pointed to her. "She almost burned the rice today! She's overworking herself!" He turned back to Katara. "If I hear you do anything…" Sokka threatened.

Katara gave an exasperated sigh.

_Now you know how it feels,_ Zuko thought.

"Don't worry," Zuko said. "I'll make sure she doesn't do anything and gets plenty of rest." He crossed his arms and smiled cruelly at Katara.

Katara glared at Zuko's smug face and stormed off.

* * *

**_Author's Notes:_**

If you'll notice, the format has been changed up a little. It was not cooperating with me when it came to the different sections of the chapter and, instead of fighting with it all night (which would lead to lack of posting on time), I chose do whatever it wanted me to.

Right, now on to the original Author's Notes:

Simatra: So, how much Zutara can you all take in one weekend?? What with the New York Comic Con trailer (epic, anyone??). But now we bring you more of what you all love, Zutara!  
Lurisa: OH MY GOSH!! ZUTARA!! runs around flailing arms HORRAYHORRAYHORRAYHORRAYHORRAYHORRAY!!gasp for airHORRAYHORRAYHORRAYHORRAYHORRAY...  
Simatra: Yes, it's SO Exciting! I mean, I really _can't_ see Maiko OR Kataang making it out of this alive...So, back to OUR story. Zuko is digging himself a very deep grave for Katara to throw him in!  
Lurisa: A deep grave, hmm? Deeper than the six feet I wonder? Hehe...Oh Zuko, you are such a fool sometimes.

The link for the trailer can be found on my profile page...


	10. Chapter 10

_**Disclaimer:** Katara, Zuko, Sokka, Aang, Toph, Suki, and all other locations, objects, and charcters affiliated with _Avatar: The Last Airbender_ belong to Mike and Bryan. They are the true masterminds; we just borrow their already well-developed characters and force them to do what we want as we warp the plot to fit our devises. What can we say? It's the way of the rabid fangirl. Enjoy. _

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

Katara woke as the early morning sun was peeking through her window, its faint light outlining her room. Stretching her arms above her head and yawning, Katara stared up at the ceiling contently. A whole day of no chores, of being able to do whatever she wanted. What was she going to do with herself?

There was a soft knock on her door and it creaked open slowly; Katara glared at it and wondered if she could freeze it shut. "Katara?"

She recognized Suki's voice and stopped glaring as the girl's head popped around the door. "What is it, Suki?"

Suki stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. "Sokka told me to remind you that you're not supposed to do anything today." She smiled. "He told me that I'm supposed to make you sleep in."

Katara snorted. "I don't know if you can force someone to sleep in."

"Try telling him that," Suki replied with a giggle as she sat down on the foot of Katara's bed. "But you know what he's like."

"Overbearing, ridiculous, outlandish, over-protective—"

"But he _is_ protective," Suki interrupted. "He worries about you. You don't see it but he's always watching out for you."

Katara frowned. "I've noticed. For so long, he had to fill Dad's shoes like I had to fill Mom's. I wish he wouldn't worry so much. He gets so annoying."

Suki smiled. "Tell me about it. But I think it's how he shows how much he cares."

Katara grinned. "I know. It's a family trait. We all worry too much."

"Speaking of worrying too much," Suki said, her smile faltering. "I think you should rethink not letting Zuko teach Aang."

Katara sighed. "He'll overwork himself, Suki. And then he could end up too weak to train Aang at all."

"Or he could surprise us all and take it slow. You'll never know unless you give him the chance." Suki rested a hand on Katara's shoulder. "Do you remember when we were crossing the Serpent's Pass?" Katara nodded. "Sokka was afraid to let me do anything by myself. You know how annoying it is for someone to worry too much. You said so yourself."

"But this is different Suki. Sokka cared about you—"

"And you're saying that you don't care about Zuko?"

Katara frowned and answered quietly. "It's not the same at all. Zuko, he's—well, I mean—Aang needs him if he's going to learn how to Firebend, Suki. And Zuko needs to be strong for that."

One of Suki's eyebrows arched questioningly. "So, if Zuko wasn't needed to train Aang—"

"I wouldn't care what he did," Katara finished so fiercely that Suki wondered who she was trying to convince, her or herself.

"I see," Suki said, standing. "Well, if I can't make you sleep in, you might as well get dressed and come down to breakfast. Sokka's taken over the cooking. Apparently, I burn the rice," she added with a small smile before closing the door behind her.

_I wouldn't care_, she thought bitterly. Would she really not care about Zuko?

She moved about the room, getting dressed.

_But,_ she thought, pulling her hair back. _I wasn't even thinking of Aang when I saw him in that cell._ Perhaps that's what scared her the most, the idea that she cared for Zuko too much, that she'd never given Zuko's role in their group a thought. She'd only wanted to help him. It didn't matter that he'd be perfect to train Aang, only that he was set free and she could care for him.

* * *

After breakfast, Katara decided to explore the Air Temple. She hadn't had time since they'd arrived and it seemed like a safe way to avoid Sokka. Her brother had given her a list of things she could and couldn't do today, the list of things she could do being limited to sleeping, resting, Waterbending, and eating. She felt vaguely rebellious as she walked down wide corridors and entered dusty rooms; after all, walking wasn't on the list of things she was allowed to do.

She came to a narrow door that blended almost seamlessly in with the wall.

_What is this,_ she asked herself, washing the crack framing the door clean of dust. Gingerly, she pushed against it. It didn't budge.

"Hmm." Katara tilted her head to the side and examined the door before pushing a bit harder. She tried again and again, each time applying more force until she was sweating, panting, and wondering why she didn't just blast through it with her bending water.

"I don't think it works that way."

She spun around, her face red with her efforts and her chest heaving, to see Zuko standing behind her, leaning against the wall. "Oh, and I suppose you have a better idea?"

He winced slightly at her snappish tone but started toward her nonetheless. "All I'm saying is that it looks like a secret door. And it's a secret door in an Air Temple. My guess would be that it can only be opened by an Airbender."

Katara huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, not wanting to admit that he was probably right and that she'd been wrong. "I know that."

He smirked and walked past her. "I'm sure you did."

She watched him turn the corner before bounding after him. "Hey, wait up."

* * *

After lunch, the two of them went to what Katara had come to think of as their clearing. She was slowly weaving the water around her body and Zuko was sitting on the edge of the fountain, watching her. At first, it had bothered her—his amber eyes were so intense on her movements—but she soon lost herself in the push and pull of the water, forgetting that anyone was watching.

"Katara?" His voice, though soft, startled her and the water faltered in its smooth dance. "Sorry."

"It's okay," she told him, the water once more under her control. "What did you want?"

He looked about to say something when Aang walked in.

"Hey Zuko, there you are! I was wondering if—" He noticed Katara then and paused for a second, looking away nervously before continuing. "If, uh, you guys wanted to check out something…on the other side of the temples?"

Zuko felt like slapping his forehead; that was the worst cover up he ever heard! Obviously, this kid wasn't very good at lying.

But Katara didn't look suspicious. "No thanks, Aang. I'm supposed to be resting." She mocked Sokka as she said it, making a face and crossing her arms. Aang laughed and backed away slowly, giving Zuko one last look before darting out. Zuko sighed—at least that was over—then he turned to Katara.

"You deserve it," he told her.

Katara turned and blinked at him. "What?"

"I said, 'You deserve it.' I'm glad Sokka told you to rest. About time someone gave you a dose of your own medicine," Zuko grumbled.

Katara's mouth dropped open. "My own…?" She stared as he stood up and walked away, leaving her alone in the clearing with her mouth hanging open and her eyes blinking slowly after him.

* * *

Zuko walked down the hall. That had been too close a call. One more slip up like that and Aang might as well say goodbye to his Firebending teacher; Katara would kill him. He shook his head, fighting down visions of the various ways Katara could do him in; each one was significantly less pleasant than the one before. Now he was off in search of Aang; he wanted to teach Aang some more forms. Not to mention he wanted to try some different things, like combining Katara's Waterbending forms with his Firebending. The thought itself provoked an odd sort of excitement. If he could successfully mix the two, Aang could be even more powerful—not to mention that Azula and his father would be caught off guard by the unexpected moves.

He found the young monk talking with Sokka as Sokka stirred the rice and added some sort of spice to it.

"This is how you give it a sweeter taste. Now, if we could just find some—"

"Sokka, you've only been cooking for a day," Aang reminded him, exasperated.

Sokka shook his head with a small smile on his face and he waved the ladle at Aang, bits of rice flying all over to land scattered across the ground. "Tut-tut, Aang, have more faith in your buddy!" Sokka flung more rice around as he lifted the spoon above his head and finished dramatically, "I think I've found my calling!"

Aang looked off to the side, shaking his head with a deep sigh. He saw Zuko walking toward them and smiled; Sokka went back to stirring the rice happily.

"Hey, Sifu Firebender!" Then he looked around nervously. "Did you lose Katara? Can we Firebend now?"

Sokka stopped his stirring and looked up. Pointing the spoon at Zuko and losing more rice, he asked, "I thought Katara said you couldn't Firebend yet?"

Zuko glared at Aang. When would he learn to keep his mouth shut?

Aang stammered. "Ah…but…well…um…Katara just decided that he could, you know, teach me. He's well enough!" He turned to Zuko expectantly. "Right, Zuko?" Aang gave a small laugh and bit his lower lip.

Sokka turned a questioning eyebrow to Zuko, who looked at the young Avatar for a second. He didn't want to believe that Aang would want him to lie to everyone; wasn't that against some sort of Avatar code or whatnot? _Of course, it's not like you haven't been lying anyway. What's one more? _

"Uh, yeah, yes. We just talked to her and I wanted to start training Aang as soon as I could so, um…here I am!" Zuko said the last part enthusiastically, adding a cheesy smile.

Sokka looked at Zuko, then Aang, and shrugged, turning back to the rice. "Whatever. As long as my sister said it's all right, I won't stand in your way."

Aang bounded out the door, leaving Zuko to follow. As soon as they were out of the room, Aang smiled up at him. "That was close. I thought we were goners for sure."

Zuko nodded. A picture of Katara bending all the blood out through his ears flitted across his mind; he shuddered. "It was too close. I thought I told you not to tell anyone."

"I didn't tell anyone," Aang replied, smiling guiltily.

Zuko looked down. "Maybe not but you could've worked on your timing. How do we know Sokka won't go blabbing to Katara?" He imagined what it would feel like to be forced to repeatedly hit himself upside the head, Katara bending his blood to her will. "She's going to kill me if she finds out."

Aang chuckled. "You worry too much. Katara couldn't hurt a Rhinofly. Not really."

Zuko remembered the look in her eyes in the catacombs under Ba Sing Se. She'd been determined that night as she fought with both Azula and him. He had the impression that she could cause serious damage when given the proper motivation.

"Zuko?" He blinked down at Aang. "Are you okay? You went pale. Well, paler than usual."

Zuko shrugged. "I was just thinking."

"Don't hurt yourself."

"What?"

Aang jumped out of his reach and through a doorway. "Nothing."

Zuko followed after him, ignoring the feeling that he'd just been made fun of.

* * *

Katara was back at the secret door, eyeing it moodily. Where did it get off denying her access to what lay beyond it? All she wanted was a little peak. Was that too much to ask?

Her hands twitched at her sides from the desire to try it again. Looking down the hall in both directions and seeing no one, Katara opened her skeins, bending water through the thin crack outlining the door with a little smile. She'd show that door who was in charge around here.

When she could feel the water on the other side, she pulled it to her in a forceful motion. Much to her surprise, that was all it took. The door swung open easily and Katara was hit in the face with her water.

Muttering under her breath, she blinked against the assaulting dust and stared into a black hallway. Stale, dusty air danced around her, as if it was excited to finally be free. Katara started through the door before thinking better of it and taking a step back. She didn't really want to go alone. And it was awfully dark. She'd find someone to go with her, someone who could help her see in the dark…

* * *

…she found Toph lounging on a rock in the sun, her hands under her head and legs crossed at the ankles. "Toph," Katara exclaimed, excited that she'd finally found someone. "Want to go on a bit of an adventure?"

Toph sat up and turned toward her. "Where're we going?"

Katara told her about the secret door. "And I don't want to go alone."

"Why don't you take Sparky? He'd be able to help you see, you know, him being a master Firebender and all."

Katara shook her head. "Zuko wouldn't be able to help me if the tunnel collapsed. Plus, I bet you'd have a blast ramming your way through those rocks." She didn't add that she _had _thought of taking Zuko with her but hadn't been able to find him; Toph would read something into it.

Toph grinned. "One Earthbending tunnel digger coming up. Count me in, Sugar Queen."

* * *

"No, Aang, like this." Zuko showed Aang the form again. "You've got to feel the power inside and force it out through your limbs."

Aang nodded and tried again. Like before, a puff of smoke floated out from his outward facing palm. His shoulders slumped in defeat and his head hung low. "Why can't I get this right?"

Zuko sighed. It hadn't been going well. Everything he showed Aang, the Avatar did correctly; his forms were impeccable, not a single toe out of line, but he couldn't feel the power yet. "It'll just take some time."

"If you could just show me, maybe…"

He trailed off as Zuko shook his head. "I'm already going against Katara's orders by just showing you the forms. If I were to actually Firebend—"

"She'd kill you," Aang finished, his nose crinkling before a smiled slightly. "She'd think of something creative, too. Like making the blood explode your veins or forcing water up your nose." He shuddered.

Zuko blinked at him. "She can really do that?" The image of his body exploding outward in a shower of red made him feel slightly sick to his stomach. How did such an innocent child come up with that thought?

"I don't know actually," Aang answered again, moving through the form Zuko had just taught him with the same frustrating result. He sighed and dropped his hands. "I know she can Bloodbend though."

"Bloodbend?" Suddenly the idea of going against Katara seemed much more dangerous.

"You know, she can control your body. She just reaches inside you and takes over."

"Has she done it to you?" Zuko tried to picture Katara doing something like that to Aang and failed.

Aang shook his head emphatically. "No, of course not. But there was a crazy old lady named Hama who did it to me and Sokka. She had Sokka trying to kill me with his sword."

"So how do you know Katara can Bloodbend?"

"She stopped Hama," Aang said simply. "One minute Sokka was running at me with his sword and the next we were back in control. I remember the way she looked; so frightening and determined. But the worst part were her tears; she couldn't stop crying," Aang finished softly. "She hated Bloodbending."

"Did she ever show you?" A plan was forming in Zuko's mind, a plan that could help the Avatar win against Firelord Ozai.

Aang blinked up at him. "She hated doing it. _Hated._ I wasn't going to make her go through that again just so I could learn a new trick."

"It's a trick that could save your life," Zuko told him. "My father and Azula will need to be caught off guard and this is the way to do it. I doubt they've ever even heard of Bloodbending and, if they have, it's the last thing they'd expect from you."

"Because it's sort of cheating, isn't it?"

Zuko nodded. "But you can expect that they will be playing dirty so why not us? Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire."

Aang frowned as he turned away, effectively dropping the subject, and moved through the form again. This time a small spark danced away from his hands.

"That was an improvement," Zuko said as Aang's face brightened slightly. "Now try this…"

* * *

"Katara, why did you want to come down here anyway? There doesn't appear to be anything but stairs," Toph complained from in front of Katara. "Lots and lots of stairs."

Katara held a torch high above her head as she followed Toph down the stairs. They had been going down for a long time now and it didn't appear that they would be leveling out anytime soon. "It seemed like a good idea at the time. And maybe it'll lead somewhere important."

"You should know better than to lie to me," Toph said; Katara could hear the smile in her voice. "I'll bet you just didn't know what to do with yourself on your day off. I told Sokka that you would go mad without chores but did he listen? Nooo…"

Katara didn't know if she should smile or be upset that Toph was right. She had been slowly going mad without her chores. That was part of the reason. The other reason was that, when she let her mind run idle, it jumped to Zuko and the way she'd been treating him like a child recently. She hated to admit it but Suki had been right. Zuko deserved the chance to prove that he could be responsible.

"Toph," Katara said slowly. "Do you think Zuko's ready to begin training Aang?"

She heard Toph scoff. "Of course he is, Katara. Zuko's not the invalid you think he is. He's stronger than you give him credit for."

Katara blinked at the back of her head. "What do you mean?"

Toph stopped and turned around. "You mean you haven't noticed? All that time you've been spending with him and you haven't seen it? And they say I'm the blind one!"

"I don't understand, Toph."

Toph eyed her curiously. "You know, I honestly believe that you don't have a clue." And she turned around, started down the steps again.

"What don't I have a clue about?" Katara hurried after Toph. "Toph, this isn't fair. Tell me what you're talking about."

"You and Sparky."

"What about me and Zuko?"

"Well, you two do spend an awful lot of time together," Toph hinted.

"Oh no, Toph," Katara said, shaking her head. "Tell me you haven't been thinking like that again."

"I'd be lying."

"Toph, there's nothing there. I'm his healer and he's my patient. That's it. End of story."

"Uh-huh. Right. I don't know what I was thinking. Of course it's natural for a healer's heart to race when her patient walks into the room. I can see I clearly don't understand these things."

Katara scowled and muttered under her breath. "My heart doesn't speed up."

She heard Toph laugh in front of her. "Of course not. My mistake."

"That's right."

Suddenly Toph stopped, causing Katara to run into the back of her. The torch fell out of her hand and landed in the dirt under her feet, the flame going out. "We're there," Toph said softly as Katara grabbed for her shoulder.

"Where? I can't see a thing!"

Toph pushed against a wall of rock and it moved out of the way. Late afternoon sun flowed over them and Katara blinked into it. "I think we just found an escape route, Katara."

* * *

**_Authors' Notes:_**

Simatra: Okay, so Chapter Ten. Zuko is starting to re-think his decision to train Aang behind Katara back and is thinking. Hopefully he doesn't hurt himself, of course, if Katara finds out, he won't have to worry about that!

Lurisa: Yeah, she'll just kill him...KEEL HIM!

Simatra: Not Zuzu! Also, this is bash Katara chapter!

Lurisa: Poor Katara. She can't help it that we're warping her into a crazy, chore obsessed person who tries to show secret doors who's in charge. Control issues much?

Simatra: Are you making fun of Katara! No! She's awesome! Anyway, so Katara learns that when pushing a door doesn't work...try _pulling._

Lurisa: And then she gets owned by a door. And it's fun.

Simatra: Yeah...And Toph ain't blind! Note: Katara was looking for Zuko before she found Toph. Lucky for Zuko she couldn't find him!

Lurisa: Hehe That'd be fun...or graphic...

Simatra: Lurisa, are you talking about bloody graphic or...nevermind...Well, expect the great Chapter Eleven next week! Some interesting things will start to form!


	11. Chapter 11

_**Disclaimer:** We don't claim to own Avatar: the Last Airbender. That honor belongs to Mike and Bryan. It's not their fault that we enjoy stealing thier characters and using them to our own devices._

**

* * *

**

Chapter Eleven

Zuko had sent Aang away and was sitting down on one of the many benches that were against the walls. The kid learned quickly and, even though he wasn't actually throwing fire, Zuko was able to teach him quite a bit in the short time they worked. Even with Zuko not Firebending, he still felt tired; but he could defiantly tell he was almost back to the way he was before his imprisonment. Zuko felt stronger, his head was clearer, everything in general was easier to do and caused him less pain.

"Soon, Katara will have to agree I'm better," he muttered to himself. _Then I don't have to worry about teaching Aang behind her back anymore._ It was pleasant to think he wouldn't have to keep lying to her; it gave him a guilty feeling every time he had lied and he felt even more awkward with Aang helping him lie.

Zuko pushed away his doubts with the help of the soothing scent of Fire Lilies and lay down on his back on the bench, crossing his arms behind his head and taking a deep sigh. Zuko felt the sun and his breathing calmed as he fell asleep. _Things are going smoothly. Now, if only it would last…_

* * *

"I think we just found an escape route, Katara," Toph said. Katara looked around the dimly lit area. Toph was right; they were at the bottom of the canyon.

"Wow," Katara breathed. It was really sparse and sunlight didn't reach the bottom of the canyon. Katara pointed to the river that ran by near them. "That river must have craved this canyon out."

"The rock beneath my feet is so cold down here. The sunlight must never reach down here," Toph contemplated. She moved her foot in a slow circle around here to feel the stone. "How far down is this, Katara? Can you see the Temple?"

Katara looked up to see the long stretch of canyon walls then some tiny green squares that she recognized as the roofs of the upside-down temple. "Really far. I can barely see the Temple. Could you imagine falling down here? There would be no chance of surviving." Katara pictured herself falling into this black, empty pit, the wind _whooshing_ in her ears and the canyon walls flying by as the ground rushed up to meet her; she shivered.

Toph huffed. "Not unless you were an Airbender or Earthbender." She moved back to the door that had led them down here. "Let's go back up before my feet freeze."

Katara turned slowly away from the sight of the temple and back to the door, hurrying up to catch Toph. "Yeah, Sokka and Dad will want to know."

* * *

"…and there was a river at the bottom of it. We could use it as an escape route if anything happened," Zuko heard Katara explain from his seat beside her brother.

Sokka frowned at his sister when she and Toph finished explaining it to him and his father.

"You were supposed to be resting today," he muttered.

Hakoda patted Sokka's shoulder, "It's alright, Sokka. Your sister and friend might have found something important. Plus," he added, looking back at Katara sternly. "I'm sure she'll get her rest in this evening."

Katara sighed reluctantly. "Yeah, I'll get my rest."

Zuko couldn't help but snicker at her. Unfortunately, Katara heard him. She turned and glared, pointing a threatening finger his way. "Don't even start with me—"

"What are you going to do," he cut her off tauntingly, "You have no power over me today."

Katara's shoulders dropped and she looked briefly to the side before glancing back up at him. _Why did he insist to be such a pain in her side today?_

Before she could say anything, a solider walked up to Hakoda and spoke quickly before leaving after her father gave a nod. Turning to them, he smiled. "Good news! General Iroh, Lady Ursa, and Master Piandao have just arrived."

Katara saw Zuko and Sokka stand up immediately. Sokka walked up to their father. "Where are they? I can't believe I'm going to see my old sword master again!"

"They're coming this way," Toph said, and in that moment, Piandao walked through the doorway followed by Iroh and Ursa. Katara saw Zuko's mom gaze at everyone pleasantly and she hurried over to her son, wrapping him in a fierce hug. Zuko accepted the hug as Iroh patted his shoulder.

Katara sighed; she felt the same envy towards Zuko as she had before. _My mother won't come back. _She was happy for Zuko but, at the same time, it was hard to watch.

Sokka was busy introducing Master Piandao to her father and Katara didn't want to intrude so she stood by Toph, looking around uncomforting.

"Feels awkward, doesn't it," Toph asked, blowing some of the hair out of her face.

"Yeah, it does."

"Don't feel too bad, Sugar Queen. I'm sure Zuko's family is going to nab you soon."

Katara just had time to look confusedly at Toph before she felt Ursa's slim arms around her. "I can't thank you enough for helping my son. You're a very talented healer."

Toph smirked as Katara said, "Um, no problem. It was no problem."

Ursa held her at arm's length and gave a small laugh. "Don't even try to tell me my little Zuko wasn't a problem. He was always disobeying orders. I can't imagine that much has changed."

Zuko, overhearing his mom, looked away and glared at the floor.

"Well, you caught me." Katara laughed as she looked over at Zuko. "I tried, but she knows you as well as a mom," she teased.

Iroh gave a deep, hearty laugh. "Very good, Miss Katara!"

Ursa walked back over to Zuko, dragging Katara with her. "Come, come! Let's go for a walk, there's so much to talk about!"

Katara felt herself get pulled away from her family as Iroh walked behind her and they headed out, walking through the door and down the hallway.

"So, Zuko, Miss Katara," Iroh said after a moment of silence. "What have you been up to since our last visit?"

Katara and Zuko exchanged a look, both of them thinking of the same thing: _arguing._ But Katara answered his question by talking as though Iroh's "you" meant the whole group at the Western Air Temple and not solely the two of them. "We've been hiding out here while my brother and father are making plans for another invasion."

"Oh, come now," Ursa sighed, the same polite, kind smile on her face. "You make it sound so dull. Did nothing exciting happen while we were away?"

Zuko took over by shaking his head and replying, "Basically, that's all that's been happening. But Katara found a secret escape route today." He looked at Katara, who picked up the conversation with a retelling of her story; Zuko was relieved to just be walking between Katara and his mother, not having to talk too much.

When Katara finished, Iroh waited for a second before asking, "So, nephew, have you started the Avatar's training yet?"

Zuko gulped; this was the last thing he wanted to talk about. Every time it was brought up, he and Katara argued and he got a feeling of upcoming dread. Katara promptly folded her arms across her chest and answered for him. "No, he hasn't. He's not well enough to be training Aang yet."

Zuko made a face and muttered angrily, "Yes, I am."

Ursa jabbed him in the side and said sharply, "No, if she says you're not well, you'll listen to her."

Zuko sighed and resented Katara's smug glance. "Yes, ma'am." Guilt continued to claw at him as they continued their walk, heading towards the small garden where Zuko first saw Katara after waking up.

* * *

"Well, this is simply lovely," Ursa breathed, gazing in wonder at the bright orange flowers surrounding the fountain.

Uncle Iroh plucked an orange blossom and handed it to her. "A Firelily for the Fire Lady."

Ursa laughed and took the bloom, holding it to her nose and inhaling deeply. "Thank you, Iroh."

Zuko rolled his eyes while Katara looked on in mystified shock. She leaned over and whispered to Zuko. "Is your uncle…_flirting_?"

Zuko glanced down at her. "Is that what that is? I always thought it was just the way he was." He watched his uncle weave the lily in behind his mother's ear. _What would Katara do if I tried giving her a flower?_ He glanced across at her; she was smiling and his hand was reaching for a lily he felt bouncing lightly against his leg.

"Here you are, Miss Katara." Zuko's hand fisted as his uncle held out a lily to Katara.

"But I'm not the Fire Lady," Katara stammered hurriedly, color rising to her cheeks as she looked down.

"Maybe not _the_ Fire Lady but a lady nonetheless." Katara let him place the flower behind her ear and smiled hesitantly up at the old man. "There, beautiful. Does she not look lovely, nephew?"

Zuko gulped as Katara turned to him. She did look lovely, beautiful even; he'd seen this already. What he hadn't been prepared for was the way she looked in the moonlight, the water from the fountain reflected on her skin and in her eyes. "Yes," he stuttered as he nodded. "Yes, she does."

Katara's mouth opened slightly in shock as she took in what he'd said. Her? Lovely? Hardly. It must've been because his mother was there. He wouldn't insult her in front of his mother. But, just for a moment, she'd allowed herself to believe that he'd truly thought her pretty. She smiled warmly.

Uncle Iroh grinned triumphantly and clapped his hands together. "Now, this old man is tired. Fire Lady Ursa, Lady Katara? Care to do me the honor of showing me to my room?"

The women laughed, looping their arms through his, and turned to leave the garden.

"Are you coming, Zuko?"

He looked up to see Katara gazing at him expectantly; he shook his head and tightened his fist to keep from taking her outstretched hand. "No, I'm going to stay here a while longer."

"Do you want me to stay with you?" She let her hand fall and pulled her arm from Iroh's, turning back to him.

Again he shook his head. "You go ahead and go. I just want to think about some things." _Like how I'm going to explain my betrayal to you in a way that will keep you from killing me._

"Oh, okay," she replied solemnly, returning to Iroh's side. "Just don't stay up too late."

"Yeah, okay," he promised, watching them leave. He caught his mother glancing over her shoulder, her amber eyes full of amused pleasure.

"Don't forget to wash your hand, Zuko. Lilies stain."

He looked down to see the flower in his hand had been crushed in his fist and he winced as it fell, bruised and bleeding, to the ground.

Katara woke early the next morning, refreshed from her day off and eager to make up for it. There were sure to be dishes to do and she'd caught sight of a hole forming in the knee of Sokka's pants that would mending.

Not to mention that the clothes were in need of a wash and someone was going to have to collect firewood for lunch; there was just enough for the cooking fire this morning. Although, with the Firebenders they'd gotten to join them, maybe firewood wouldn't be needed.

She smiled, picturing Zuko doing such a mundane task as bringing the water to a boil. What a great way to see if he'd be strong enough to start training Aang. Maybe today we can find out. She pulled her hair back as she entered the kitchen. It was going to be one of those good days. She could feel it.

* * *

The room was crowded when Zuko entered. His eyes sought out Katara. He'd decided last night that he was going to spend today convincing her that he was well enough to train the Avatar. He couldn't lie to her anymore and he couldn't stop training Aang. So, he figured that, if he got her to see that he was perfectly capable of teaching Aang, everything would work out and he would be able to live with himself again.

He found her at the rice pot dishing out rice into waiting bowls with a smile and pleasant conversation as people came up to her. Taking a deep breath, he started his trek across the wide room. In his head, he rehearsed all the points he was going to make and all his arguments for the way he guessed she'd react.

Grabbing two bowls, he stood at the end of the line, moving forward one slow step at a time until he was right in front of her.

She glanced up at him and beamed. "Good morning, Zuko!"

"'Morning," he said distantly, thinking of how to bring up the subject of his Firebending. She dished some rice into the empty bowls and he whispered to her. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure. Just a minute." She stood and turned to Suki, who was sitting beside her. "Can you take over for a bit?"

Suki nodded. "No problem. I think serving is the only thing I can do right when it comes to cooking."

Katara laughed as Sokka glared at Suki. Suki just ignored his glare and started to greet people as they came up to get their breakfast.

Zuko handed Katara a bowl of rice and led the way out to the edge of the temple.

"So, what's up," Katara asked, sitting on a bench and pulling her legs underneath her.

Zuko leaned back against the railing. "I wanted to ask you something."

She stopped in mid bite. "What did you want to ask me?"

He turned around, looking over the canyon and taking a deep breath. "I want you to let me train Aang," he said quickly. "I know that you think I'm too weak and not well enough but I think I can do it."

"Okay."

"I know what you're thinking but I promise to stop if…" He paused, comprehending what she just said as he turned to look at her. "What?"

She smiled. "I said, 'okay.' I know I've been hard on you but I think you deserve a chance."

He blinked, gazing straight ahead of him. "That was easier than I thought it would be."

Sokka came out of the crowd and headed for them. "Zuko, Aang's looking for you. Said something about checking out something on the other side of the Temple. I don't know why you two think you've got to be all secretive about your training but—" he held up his hand in mock surrender—"I'm not a bender. You people sail completely different seas." As Sokka finished, he walked off in the other direction, completely oblivious to how much his words would affect them.

Katara looked up at Zuko, confusion, then dawning, then hurt welling up in her eyes, and he saw tears start to form.

"Katara," he said softly, reaching for her. "Let me explain."

She shook her head and backed away from him. "You…you lied to me?"

"No!…I mean…yes…Katara wait!"

She had started to leave; Zuko reached out towards her again as he spoke and she turned back to him. "I can't deal with this right now."

Zuko watched her retreating back, wishing that she'd yelled at him rather than just walk away. This was much worse. _She is crying, because of me._

* * *

Uncle Iroh watched from his seat in front of the Avatar as his nephew stormed off in the opposite direction as the Waterbender, looking suddenly very cross and irritable. Aang went on eating, oblivious to what was unfolding behind him. "So, why do they call you the Dragon of the West anyway?"

Iroh brought his eyes back to the young boy's face and smiled. "Well, a long time ago, when dragons still roamed the world, I learned Firebending from some of the true masters. In fact, their city is not far from here…"

"Katara, you've got to come out sometime."

"Please, just leave me alone, Toph."

Toph leaned against the wall beside the door to Katara's room. She didn't need her feet to tell her that Katara was crying; she could hear her sniffles. "At least let me in. You need to talk this out."

"I don't want to talk about it. I want to forget it ever happened."

Toph sighed. "It may not be what you want, but it is what you need. Now, are you going to let me in or are we going to have this conversation where everyone can hear it?"

She heard the click of Katara's door being unlocked and Toph walked in to comfort her crying friend.

* * *

"How could I have been so stupid?"

Suki sat at the edge of the fountain in the same position she'd sat in since entering the small clearing fifteen minutes ago. And, had she been counting, she'd have known that that statement had left Zuko's mouth more than ten times; he'd asked that question quite often. Unfortunately, she didn't know if he was looking for her to answer the question or if he was asking himself.

"I can't believe I lied to her! I should've known this would happen. I'm not lucky enough to have everything work out the way I planned." He stopped pacing and pulled his hands out of his hair, looking over to her. "You know, I finally got her to agree to let me train the Avatar."

"Really," Suki asked, the first thing she'd said since he'd asked her what her name was when she'd followed him here.

He nodded and sank down to the ground. "I couldn't lie to her anymore. And so I'd been up since dawn just going over every possible way she'd answer and how I'd argue my point with her. The only thing I hadn't expected was for her to actually say 'yes'. Go figure, right?"

Suki opened her mouth to answer just as he jumped back to his feet and resumed his pacing. "She's just so infuriating!"

Suki blinked.

"She's so bossy and pigheaded. And you want to know what the worst part is? The worst part is the way she makes me feel like she's right. I can be up walking around feeling perfectly fine and then she's there telling me I need to rest and suddenly I'm so tired I have to lay down right there. I was just sitting in our garden once and she walked in, looked at me, and I practically fell asleep! I don't think that's natural!

"And don't even get me started on her invasion of personal space…" Suki listened as Zuko ranted on and on about Katara, personal space, and something about hair.

"I don't know if I want to grab her and shake her or if I want to grab her and kiss her!"

Suki smiled at his shocked expression. Then tried not to laugh as she said, "Either way, I'm sure she'd be quiet."

* * *

Toph sat on the edge of the bed with Katara lying hopelessly across it, her face buried in her arms. "I just don't know what to do, Toph. I thought I was helping him. I thought maybe we were even becoming friends. But he…he _lied_ to me. _Again_!" She wailed into the thin mattress, a fresh wave of tears soaking through the material. "I can't believe I was stupid enough to trust him."

Shifting slightly, Toph turned toward the sound of Katara's crying. She had never heard Katara in such hysteria. "I don't think he wanted to lie to you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just saying that, given the way he's kind of been avoiding you, I don't think he enjoyed it."

Katara sat up, blinking and wiping away tears. Then she sniffed. "He's been avoiding me?"

"Well, yeah. He's constantly aware of where you are in the temple and he tries to be on the other side when he can be. Like when he practiced with Aang, they would both disappear to the gardens—"

"Wait, you _knew_? And you didn't bother to tell me?"

"Well, I just figured you'd given him permission."

There was a knock on the door. "Katara?"

Katara glared at it, picturing Zuko's face on the other side. "I don't socialize with liars, Zuko."

She heard him sigh heavily and the soft thud as his forehead rested against the door. "What I did was wrong and I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't cover it."

"I know."

She blinked at the door. Setting her face into a scowl, she marched up to it and swung it open. He was standing there, head down and shoulders slumped. He glanced up at her for a moment before looking back at the ground. She wasn't sure what she'd been looking for but he looked so achingly remorseful that she felt herself reaching out to him.

Fisting her hands at her sides, she stepped around him and started down the hall.

"Katara, wait," he exclaimed, grabbing her arm and spinning her around.

She glared at his hand briefly before pulling out of his grip and shouting, "No, you betrayed me! You taught Aang Firebending! But that's not the worst part. You went behind my back to do it. You deliberately disobeyed my orders not to and started training him before you were ready!"

His eyes narrowed. "I was ready. You were just too blinded to see it. All you wanted was someone to look after, to take care of. Well, let me tell you, Katara, I'm nobody's pet!" He spoke harshly and angrily. "And, for the record, I'm trying to help Aang! _You've_ been keeping the art of Bloodbending from him!"

The crack echoed through the halls as Katara slapped Zuko across the face. "How dare you? _How dare you?_ I looked after you, yes, but if I hadn't, you would still be in that Fire Nation prison, delusional and dying. I saved your pathetic life and, as thanks, you lied to me some more."

Zuko watched her leave and rubbed his stinging cheek. He hated this feeling, this feeling of guilt even though everything was now out in the open and he hated this feeling that told him everything was his fault.

Toph walked to the open door and leaned against the frame. "You two are a mess."

* * *

**_Author's Comments:_**

Simatra: So, because chapter eleven is so awesome, it's also awesomly long!

Lurisa: You can say that again, writing buddy. It is almost twice as long as all the other chapters...

Simatra: Almost?! It IS longer than all our other chapters! Anyway, what do you think you're favorite part about this chapter was?

Lurisa: hmm...the fighting...It rocked. And the flirting, it was too cute!

Simatra: Yes! I loved all of that! But my favorite is probably the garden scene! Gah! So awesome!

Lurisa: With Uncle Iroh trying to give Zuko subtle hints...yes that was full of win!

Simatra: Yes! And then...BAM! Sokka ruined the trust and bond they were having...without. even. realizing. it.

Lurisa: but can you blame the schmuck? He's pretty much oblivious to the whole Zuko/Katara dynamic anyway...which works out just peachy for us

Simatra: Yeah...So...blame Sokka...And Aang...it's all their fault, if they would've just kept their mouths shut...ho buddy!

Lurisa: While we're pointing fingers, it's actually Zuko's fault for lying in the first place...back in Crossroads of Destiny...

Simatra: Yeah...well _**trys to stick up for Zuko**_ Katara hasn't taught Aang Bloodbending and that's kind of important...

Lurisa: details, details...


	12. Chapter 12

_**Disclaimer:** Avatar: The Last Airbender and all it's characters do not belong to us. If they did, we wouldn't have signed with Nick and let our show be shoved around. Episodes would've aired on time, the DVDs would've been released in a timely manner and we wouldn't have allowed a comicbook adaptation of the finale to be made avaiblable to the public before the episodes had even been aired. That honor belongs to Mike and Bryan. We love them to death but we're seriously wondering what the hairy is going on with this _Sozin's Comet_ nonsense._

_Anyway, on with the chapter. _

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

Zuko walked back to his room, a feeling of dread in his stomach and his cheek still stinging from Katara's slap. _Why do I have to screw everything up for us,_ he thought, feeling as though, every time they came closer and things were looking up, he would do something to send them back down a mountain side.

Every part of Zuko wanted to yell, to hit something. His eyes began to roam, landing on a vase sitting innocently on a table in the hall, and he had the strangest urge to pick it up and throw it against the wall, to hear it shatter. It might make the tight contorted feeling in his stomach go away.

His fingers were hovering around its neck when heard, "Hey, Zuko! There you are! I came to—"

"Are you happy, Avatar," Zuko yelled, turning to the boy. "Katara's furious with me! She found us out! All because you couldn't keep your mouth shut!" He knew he was more angry with himself than Aang—it wasn't as if the child was the only one to blame—but it felt so good to just yell that he didn't hear what he was saying.

Aang cowered away from Zuko's harsh voice and angry face. Zuko glared at the kid for a few moments before realizing his hand was fisted in Aang's shirt. Letting go of Aang's shirt, he backed away.

"I'm sorry, Aang. It wasn't your fault." Zuko clutched the brim of his nose, taking deep breaths. "It's mine. I'm just really stressed right now."

"Uh…it's okay, Sifu Zuko." Zuko noticed Aang taking a step back from him. "So, Katara found out?"

"Yeah," he answered, looking down. "If I were you, I wouldn't go anywhere near her today. You might get the same treatment from her as you did from me."

Aang gave a pitiful laugh. "Right. Why are you so afraid of Katara? She's so kind and caring…" He trailed off, lost in thought.

"Yeah, well, maybe to you," he mumbled, rubbing his still stinging cheek. "Now, what was it you wanted," Zuko asked through his teeth, wishing he had something to grab hold of and choke.

"Huh?" Aang sighed. "Oh right. Your Uncle Iroh has some great news about Firebending and—"

Zuko interrupted him again. "Aang, I _really_ don't want to talk about Firebending right now…"

"—and he wants to talk to you about it," Aang continued as though Zuko had said nothing. "He said it has something to do with finding these Firebending masters who know the true meaning of Firebending."

Zuko lifted an eyebrow. _W__hy hadn't Uncle told me about this before?_

Zuko was slightly interested but, on the other hand, he really didn't think he had the heart to go to his uncle right now. It was very probable that he knew of Zuko's lies—Aang probably told him about their training—and Zuko knew that would just lead to another one of his Uncle's confusing lectures.

"Aang, I _really_ don't want to talk about Firebending right now, okay?" Zuko repeated himself and watched Aang's excited face drop.

"This could be a great chance for us to find out the true meaning of Firebending! You know I've been having problems with it. We have to try!"

"I know." Zuko sighed, turning away and starting down the hallway to his room. "Just not right now, okay. I'll talk to my Uncle later. I'm going to go get some sleep; I'm tired."

"Zuko, it's only noon," Aang said, exasperated. "How could you possibly be tired?"

"Blame Katara."

* * *

Katara was scrubbing the rice pot fiercely, pretending all the little stains were Zuko's lying face. "You won't get the better of me!" It brought her a small bit of pleasure to watch the stains dissolve and break up, falling into the mucky water at the bottom of the pot. "Take that, you! See if you try anything with me again!"

Sokka watched her scrub the pot, frowning and leaning slightly away from his cleaning sister. "What's that pot ever done to you?"

Katara stopped her battle with the pot full of Zuko stains and glared at her brother. She blamed him too. After all, he hadn't told her about Zuko secretly training Aang; it was his fault too. Katara mustered her nastiest look she could throw at her brother before returning to the rice pot and muttering fiercely. "Get out Sokka."

"Can I trust you not to scrub a hole in the pot?" He grinned and nudged her in the side, trying to lighten the mood.

"I said get out," Katara shouted. She almost felt sorry to see the good natured smile fall from her brother's face but not sorry enough to stop yelling. "You knew! You knew and you didn't tell me! You lied to me, too!"

"Okay, alright, you caught me," Sokka said, holding his hands out in front of him. "I'm the one who forgot to gather some firewood. I thought we had enough for this morning and Suki said she wanted to tell me something but that wasn't really what she had in mind." He blushed. "Anyway, I'll go get the wood now, okay. I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"That's not what I'm talking about! Zuko was training Aang," Katara explained, scrubbing double-time at a particularly stubborn stain. She looked up to see Sokka watching her questioningly. "Oh never mind. Just go get the firewood."

"Have fun cleaning—um, waging war upon our rice pot." He stood up and left; Katara desperately wanted to throw something at his retreating back. Not only had he known about Zuko and Aang but he had been off "talking" with Suki and ignoring his chores.

"Stupid brother! Stupid Zuko! Stupid day!"

When Katara finished she pulled the water out of the pot with Waterbending, trying desperately to calm herself. When that didn't work, she threw it as hard as she could over the edge of the Western Air Temple. Katara saw the water hit the other side of the canyon with a _splat_ and watched with some satisfaction as it dripped slowly down the rock.

After taking a few deep breaths, she realized that she did feel better. A little calmer at least but she almost wished she was angry again. Grief was slowly filling the space anger had occupied and with it came too many questions and not enough answers.

_Why do I have to feel this way? _

_Why did he lie to me? _

_Doesn't he want to be my friend?_

She looked at the wet spot she'd made on the rock and whispered through brimming tears, "Why doesn't he like me?"

* * *

"Zuko, dear," Zuko heard his mother say from the other side of his door. "You can't stay in there all day, you need to come out. Your Uncle is looking for you."

Zuko stayed quiet. Maybe, just maybe, his mother would go away. Maybe she didn't know what had happened yet. Zuko may not have been angry with his mom but he was angry at himself and that was almost as bad. When he was angry, it made him irritable with everyone.

"Zuko, I know what happened between you and Katara. Do you want to talk about it?"

Zuko scowled out the window; she had found out. "No," he answered shortly.

"Zuko…" His mothers tone carried an underlying threat of a severe lecture. Not in the mood to put up with another tongue lashing, Zuko sighed and went to the door. He opened it just a crack before turning back to his bed and sitting down.

Ursa walked into the room and looked around the room for a second before seating herself on the stool beside Zuko's bed. _Katara's stool._

"Why did you lie to her, Zuko? You should know better—"

"Mom, if you came here to lecture me, I already know how much I screwed up! It's something I do." Zuko paused and frowned. "It's something I do a lot."

Ursa nodded slowly. "I'm sure you didn't mean it Zuko. I can see you're beating yourself up enough without my interference. But you do need to talk to your Uncle." When Zuko gave her a pleading look she added, "I'll make sure to tell him that you aren't looking for a lecture."

Zuko let out a breath of air as his mother stood to leave. "So he knows?"

Ursa grinned slightly. "How do you think I found out?"

Zuko groaned and flopped down on the bed. _Does everyone know how I screwed up now?_

He lay like that for a long time, just thinking; thinking about past mistakes, about how he could fix this. How he could apologize to Katara now? How could she possibly forgive him again? Many scenarios popped into his head. Some of them turned out well but most of them ended with him beaten to a bloody pulp. A few ended with him actually dying.

His Uncle disrupted his thoughts by knocking on the already open door to announce his entrance.

"Hey, Uncle," Zuko said distantly.

Iroh chuckled. "Lady troubles?"

Zuko immediately sat up, pointing an accusing finger at his Uncle. "Mom said no lectures!"

"That is what I would call a subtle hint and a joke, my nephew. Not a lecture." Iroh continued his chuckle as he sat at the end of Zuko's bed with a grunt. "Has the Avatar talked to you at all about the Firebending masters?"

"Yeah, he mentioned them. Who are they," Zuko asked, pushing aside his thoughts of Katara.

Iroh smiled as though he had a private joke that Zuko knew nothing about. "Their names are Ran and Cha. I suggest you and the Avatar leave today to learn from them. They are at the old Sun Warrior ruins, you remember where—?"

Zuko nodded. "Of course, but I didn't think anyone lived there anymore."

"Life is full of surprises," Iroh said simply, smiling again as he left, closing the door behind him.

* * *

"They _what?_" Katara couldn't believe her ears. Suki said the words and Katara heard them, but she didn't understand. _H__e wouldn't just leave like that, without telling me, would he?_

"Yeah, you just missed them, Katara. Zuko said they had to go meet some Firebending masters," Suki replied.

"I can't _believe_ him." Katara shook her head. "He just up and left?"

"Well, they told us they were leaving," Suki answered.

_But he didn't tell me,_ Katara finished. This couldn't be happening. Ever since Suki had found her in the little garden and told her how Zuko and Aang just decided to leave on Appa to some Sun Warrior Temple, one thought had been turning over and over in her mind: _He left without telling me._

Katara rubbed her temples and sank onto the bench next to Suki. She didn't know whether to be angry or disappointed. Was it really so hard to find her and inform her that he was heading off to do who-knows-what? "Why does he do this to me, Suki? Does he hate me," Katara asked, holding her head in her hands and placing her elbows on her knees. "Maybe he really does look at me as a peasant that's too far below him to even be his friend."

There was a pause where neither of them said anything, then Suki smiled slightly, speaking softly, "Well, he certainty doesn't hate you. And I'm pretty sure he wants to be your friend."

Katara looked up quickly. "What do you mean?"

Suki thought for a second. "This morning, after you stormed off, he came here and I followed him." One of Katara's eyebrows rose slightly. "He was ranting and raving, calling himself an idiot and saying you were so infuriating, and bossy, and—"

"I get the picture," Katara mumbled, feeling the anger rising inside her.

Suki smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. But the point is that, while he ranted and raved, I could tell how much he cared about what you thought of him. Then he told me he wasn't sure if he wanted to shake you—"

"Suki, just get to the—"

"—or kiss you."

Katara's eyes grew wide. She looked at Suki with her mouth hanging open; Suki had the same pleasant smile.

_He what?_ Katara thought about it a moment, actually considered the possibility, then burst out laughing. "Good one, Suki! That was—you almost had me believing that—"

But Suki wasn't laughing; Katara's laugh slowly died. "You mean— he really—No. He couldn't. How could he?" Katara stared blankly ahead, mouth gapping and eyes wide. "For heaven's sake, he's a _prince_, Suki. Princes don't, well, _like_ peasant girls."

Suki patted on her on the shoulder as she stood to leave. "I can see you'll going to need some time alone."

_How…when?_ Katara's mind raced frantically; it was just yesterday in this garden he called her beautiful. _So he had really meant it?_ Katara found herself thinking of back in his bedroom, when she was playing with his hair while he lay asleep. _Or was he?_ The picture she'd had in her head that day had been her sitting beside him as he kissed her hand; she was his Fire Lady…

"Toph was right after all." Katara couldn't help but laugh. It felt so good to laugh, like emptying her body of all the negative feelings she had inside her and tears of joy started to form.

* * *

Zuko felt the wind blow through his hair and his clothes snapped briskly. Riding on Appa was so much slower then he'd thought it would be. In fact, he was sure that this thing should be able to fly quite a bit faster.

Aang sat up on the great bison's head, humming quietly to himself. Zuko sat in the saddle and watched the clouds shift and change.

Zuko felt even guiltier than before for leaving before settling things with Katara. He felt as though he should've told her he was going and explained why it was so important. For all that she'd yelled at him, he still felt like he owed her that much. It was as if, by not telling her, he was lying to her again. _I'll fix it as soon as we get back,_ Zuko promised himself firmly. _Maybe, by the time we get back, she'll be in a friendlier mood and willing to forgive me._

* * *

The rest of Katara's day passed in a haze; she had a lot on her mind. But, on top of that, she had her regular chores and this nagging feeling she couldn't shake; something wasn't right. The afternoon was too quiet. The evening was quieter still. She had this sinking feeling in her stomach that something terrible was going to happen.

By the time Katara fell asleep late that night, Zuko and Aang still hadn't come back, and her nagging feeling had gotten worse. Something was terribly wrong. What if Aang and Zuko didn't come back? What if the Sun Warriors had captured them and turned them over to the Fire Nation?

Needless to say, she tossed and turned as she slept.

* * *

Aang leaned forward, his eyes drifting closed. Katara's eyes widened. This was not happening. Not again.

"Aang, don't."

"But Katara," he said, grabbing her shoulders and keeping her from backing away. "I love you."

His lips were on hers and he was holding her in place. _Oh no! Oh no, oh no, oh no…_

She pulled away from him and took several steps back. "I said _no_! Just leave me alone!"

"Katara—"

"NO!" She turned to run from him only to find herself entrapped in a pair of strong arms. She fought against them, pounding on the solid chest with her fist. "Let me go!"

The arms loosened as a familiar, rough voice sounded in her ear. "It's okay, Katara. I won't let anything happen to you."

She opened her eyes and looked up. Zuko stood before her, his arms loosening their hold on her. A large hand reached up and brushed across her cheek. "Don't cry."

"I'm sorry, my Lord." Katara reached up and swiped at her eyes. "I just—"

She stopped speaking as his fingers ghosted over her lips. His eyes darted from her mouth to her eyes. "Did anyone ever tell you to talk too much?"

Katara nodded as his fingers trailed over her jaw, down her neck, and buried themselves in her hair. "Sokka has told me that before," she whispered, leaning closer to him; he smelled of sulfur, smoke and water.

"May I kiss you, Lady Katara?"

Katara nodded as his breath drifted across her lips.

* * *

Shouts and screams ripped through the silent night; Katara bolted out of bed, her face flushed. Her fingers fluttered over her lips. _Zuko kissed—_

"Everyone wake up! Intruders!"

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Simatra: Alright! Here's your Chapter Twelve. With all this crazyness 'Sozin's Comet' is causing, we try to give you some sanity. Which brings us to our first order of busisness...ah-hem NO SPOILERS HERE OR I WILL HIDE YOUR COMMENT AND BAN YOU FROM MY SITE!! It's that simple, I don't want to know about the spoilers and some here also don't want to listen to the spoilers, thank you.  
Lurisa: That sounds a bit harsh, Simatra. I mean, I'm sure they're just trying to be helpful...  
Simatra: Yeah, well you want to know were I want them to put their help? **_fork _**deep, calming breaths Okay...so anyway, Katara kills Zuko stains and Zuko um..."wonders about his place in the universe"? **_giggle _**Also, Sokka and Suki had something to "talk" about! :D  
Lurisa: **_giggle _**I'm not sure they were saying much. Suki's more of a...um...physical person...LOL:D  
Simatra: LURISA! **_shakes head _**PG, girl! Keep this PG...well, actually, PG 13 but...hey, who's keeping track?  
Lurisa: **_slaps forhead_**I'm sorry. I didn't mean too! It just slipped. You know, if you let me write some more Zutara "smut", we wouldn't be having this conversation. **_nudge, nudge_**  
Simatra: Hey! Don't pin this on me! So also, Zuko and Katara make a few...revelations?  
Lurisa: Amazingly, Zuko figured it out before Katara. What are the odds of that?  
Simatra: ha, go figure...and then Aang and Zuko leave for more bonding time!  
Lurisa: AND KATARA'S DREAM!! **_w00t_**  
Simatra: Yes, it's her subconscious mind people, it knows the truth! XD Also, cough um, anyone find its similarities with the trailer? :D  
Lurisa: Whatever are you talking about? :D  
SImatra: O.o ...Oh...**_giggle_**


	13. Chapter 13

_**Disclaimer:** We do not claim to own anything from Avatar: The Last Airbender. It all belongs to Mike and Bryan. We only do this for the pure enjoyment of writing it, reading it, and then sharing it. Hope you like it enough to leave a review...wink wink, nudge nudge. lol :D_

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

Zuko gazed up at the stars on the back of the bison. They were flying back to the Western Air Temple after having met the Firebending masters. It had been quite a surprised for Zuko to find that the masters were dragons. He had thought for sure they would be goners; Fire Prince and Avatar or not, they had both wronged the world. But Aang hurriedly remembered that Dragon Dance they had learned in another part of the temple. Zuko thought back to the fire the dragons had produced; it was so beautiful.

"I can't wait till we get back," Aang said excitedly. "I'll finally be able to show them my Firebending!"

"Yeah," Zuko replied distantly, still lost in his thoughts. "Hey, how much longer till we get back?"

Aang turned around to face Zuko. "We should see it any second now. Why?"

Zuko sat up and looked over the edge of the saddle and out where the Western Air Temple should come into view. He'd find Katara when he got back and make her listen to him. He needed her to forgive him for everything. She needed to understand. "I'll just be glad to get back. I've got some business to take care of."

They broke through the clouds and Zuko was relieved to see the temple. They were getting close; but his relief turned to horror when he heard shouts and saw the many huge fires that engulfed some parts of the temple.

"Aang, look!" Zuko pointed down at the temple, but the Avatar had already seen it.

"Oh no! Appa, yip, yip!"

Appa flew faster as they reached the temple and Zuko felt his heart clench. This could not be happening. His eyes scanned the damage. Bodies laid scattered about the ground, the light from the fires casting grotesque shadows across their faces.

_Is she here,_ he asked himself, leaning over the saddle. What if Katara was lying somewhere among the corpses, injured and waiting for someone to come help her? Or worse, what if she was de—?

He shook his head. She wasn't dead. He refused to believe it.

Aang guided Appa to an area big enough for him to land and Zuko was leaping out of the saddle and stumbling to his knees before the Air Bison touched down. He was vaguely aware of Aang yelling for him to come back, that they should stay together, but he ignored him as he scrambled to his feet and ran down a wide hall. His eyes were alert, looking for any sign of her. If she was here, he'd find her.

Zuko ran through a wide door and found himself in the wide clearing where they ate their meals. Fires flared and flickered as he looked on in horror. The cries and moans of the wounded echoed through his head and he felt the blood drain from his face. Reaching out, he steadied himself against the doorway.

He grabbed hold of a young woman running past him, spinning her around to face him. "What's happening? Where is Katara?"

The woman's eyes were wide and puffy. Tears streamed down her pale face. "I don't know. The attack came out of nowhere; the warriors weren't prepared. I don't know where anyone's at and they keep bringing in more wounded—"

Zuko shook her. "But Katara—Where's Katara?"

"I—I don't—Someone said she was in the middle of it all, that she was working with the warriors to keep more from coming up through the secret tunnel."

Zuko pushed past her and out a door on the other side. Was she out of her mind? Fighting at the front lines was suicide. She should've been doing something safer. She should've been healing the wounded.

He ran down the hall, all the while looking for her. Katara couldn't do this to him, not yet. He had so much to tell her. If she went and got herself injured, he'd never forgive himself. He should've been here, fighting with her, protecting her.

He skidded to a halt as a ball of fire whizzed past his face from around the corner. Peeking around the corner, he saw her, he found Katara. His heart leaped high into his throat at the sight of her standing her ground against a Firebender bent on taking her down.

She ducked as the Firebender aimed another fireball at her and it went sailing over her head, exploding against the wall behind her. Zuko saw her grin wickedly and wrap his legs in water, a move he remember her doing in the catacombs under Ba Sing Se. With a tug, she had the Bender on his back, staring up at her in fury. With a flick of her wrist, the man was sailing through the air. He hit the wall with a sickening thud and sank to the ground, unconscious.

Zuko stepped around the corner, sidestepping a well placed waterwhip.

"Zuko!" She smiled and took a step toward him just as another Firebender took advantage of her distraction. The ball of fire hit her in the shoulder, causing her to spin and stumble to her knees.

The man advanced, punching the air and balls of fire exploded around Katara as she tried to scramble to her feet.

Rage filled Zuko as he ran around the corner, hardly stopping to pick up the sword he saw laying next to another unconscious soldier. In one swift motion, the blade was engulfed in flame and was slicing through the air in front of the attacking Firebender.

The man took a step back, his eyes wide as he tried to avoid Zuko's blade. He fell over a toppled bench, landing sprawled across the ground. The Firebender went still as Zuko stood over him, the blade at his throat.

"Zuko, don't."

He felt Katara's hand on his shoulder and he put a bit more pressure on the sword; small drops of blood formed near the point. Her other hand wrapped around his on the hilt of the sword; he looked away from the cowering man and down into her eyes. She pulled the sword away from him and smiled up at him; the Firebender fainted.

Zuko grabbed her shoulder, pulling her down beside him as another Firebender attacked. "Stay down."

Jumping to his feet, Zuko charged toward their attacker, dropping the sword with a clang. Spinning his arms in a circle above his head, a whip of fire formed and snapped in the Firebenders face. The Firebender stumbled back with a scowl.

The Firebender kicked, sending a jet of fire at Zuko. Zuko dodged sideways, narrowly avoiding the flames and returned the volley.

Water flew by Zuko and shoved the man back, freezing his feet in place. Katara stepped up beside Zuko with that wicked grin on her face and froze the man's hands to his sides. Zuko walked up to him and punched him in the face, knocking him out.

"I told you to stay down."

Katara's smile turned to a glare. "Well, I'm sorry I tried to help you out. Next time, I'll just hide and let you handle it on your own."

He watched as she marched past him and closer to the main part of the fighting; he could hear the weapons clashing, the shouts echoing off the tall ceilings. "Katara, wait!" His hand landed on her shoulder and spun her around.

She raised a questioning eyebrow at him and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I just," he started, running a hand through his hair. "I just don't want you to get hurt."

Her eyes softened and the corner of her mouth pulled up into a half smile. "I can't just sit back and do nothing, Zuko. I'm needed here."

"I know," Zuko answered, looking over her shoulder. "But that doesn't mean I like the idea any better."

Her hand rested on the side of his face. "I'll be fine. I promise."

Zuko looked down at her, wanting so badly to believe in her promise that he nodded, knowing that there was no way she could keep that promise. Sure, she may get lucky and come through it without a scratch or only a few bumps and bruises but she couldn't guarantee that she would remain unharmed. She didn't have any control over that.

Katara ran her thumb over Zuko's cheek, smiled once more, and turned toward the sounds of the raging battle. She was pulling away when Zuko's hand tightened around her wrist.

"Don't go," he murmured. He saw the anger flare in her eyes and added hurriedly. "There are wounded in the main hall where we eat. They need your help, too, Katara."

She looked from him to the clanging and crashing, shouting and crying out. "But…" Her eyes drifted back to him. "Okay, I'll go help the wounded."

* * *

Katara followed Zuko through the gardens toward the main hall. He claimed it was to keep her safe and she did believe him. It was just that his way of keeping her from harm meant that the sounds of battle subsided until they were a distant dream, a fading nightmare.

Zuko suddenly stopped in front of her, stretching out an arm to stop her, his hand wrapping around her waist and shoving her behind him.

"Zuko, what's going…" She peered over his shoulder and saw the gardens engulfed in flames shooting high above their heads and blocking their path.

"This way," Zuko ordered, grabbing her hand and pulling her quickly along another path; she had to run to keep up. His finger twined with hers as he kept his eyes on the path ahead.

Katara concentrated on their hands, focusing so intently that she didn't realize that they'd reached their garden until Zuko stopped again. She stumbled into his back and coughed against his shoulder. The flames closed in around them, cutting off their escape.

"What are we going to do, Zuko?" Katara asked through her coughs as she used the water in the fountain to put out sparks threatening to engulf their small haven from the flames. The smoke hung heavy in the air, seeping into their lungs as they fought for breath.

"Now, that is a question."

They both turned to see Azula striding into the clearing, her malicious smirk firmly in place. Zuko dropped into a defensive stance. "What do you want, Azula?"

"What, no friendly 'hello'?" she started in mock offence, her eyebrows arching gracefully and her mouth pulling down in the corners. If he hadn't known better, he'd believe that she honestly hadn't any idea where his bitterness came from. "Now, Zuzu, is that anyway to greet your little sister? Where's my brotherly hug?"

Zuko shook his head in reply, waiting impatiently for her attack to come and refusing to be baited. He'd had enough of falling into her cunningly set traps. He waited for her to spring this snare; what would she say to incite him this time, to try to get him on her side?

"I see you've made a new friend while you've been away," she said slowly, a wicked glint flashing in her cold eyes as she turned to Katara; they drifted down to their entwined fingers.

"Stay away from her," Zuko ordered threateningly, pushing Katara behind him.

"You always had the nasty habit of making friends. You should know better than to leave yourself open like that, Zuzu." She smiled a mirthless smile that sent chills down Katara's spine. "And a Water Tribe peasant? Honestly, dear, sweet brother, how can you stand the smell?"

Zuko attacked first, just as Azula had known he would. Oh, it was so much fun to push his buttons. She'd known from the moment she'd seen them running from the battle and followed them that this Waterbender would prove to be her brother's undoing.

Azula easily stepped out of the way of the ball of flame aimed toward her face; she could feel the heat graze her cheek and was fairly impressed. Her embarrassing brother had gotten better. "Not bad, Zuzu. I felt a bit of heat with that one," she taunted, acting as though they were kids again, practicing.

"Shut up," he hissed, gritting his teeth.

A perfectly arched eyebrow rose enchantingly. "No need to be rude, brother."

Katara, going ignored by Azula, bent a wave of water from the fountain and crashed it into the Fire Nation Princess, laying her flat on her back.

"You will pay for that, Water Tribe wench!" Azula hissed indignantly, steam rising off her as she rose elegantly to her feet. Blue flames danced wildly about her hands as a wicked grin slowly pulled at the corners of her mouth and her eyes narrowed to cruel slits.

Katara drew water around her and Zuko, tentacles of liquid waving threateningly. "Give me your best shot."

"Oh, I will," Azula promised coldly. She shot with lightening speed at Katara. Katara brought the tentacles together in front of her, forming a shield to stop Azula's attack. The blue fire crashed against the water, thick steam mixing with the heavy smoke as it billowed away. Katara took her remaining water and circled it around her body to launch it at her.

Azula was already fighting off Zuko as the water came towards her. She smiled at the opportunity; she jumped back and engulfed the water in flames, using the steam as a cover. Zuko looked for his sister but all he could see was the opaque steam.

He lashed out a long line of fire into the heart of the steam cloud, determined not to be fooled by Azula. But blue fire was shooting out at both Zuko and Katara from inside. Katara did her best to dodge the fire. Pulling more water out of the fountain Katara lashed at the steam clearing it until she saw a flash of red in the mist.

Zuko saw the cloud of steam clear when water surged at him, knocking him backwards. "NO! It's me," he yelled. Katara stopped her attack, confused. Where did Azula go?

"I'm sorry, Zuko," Katara apologized. "I thought—"

"Katara! Look out!" Zuko looked on in horror as his sister shot at Katara's back; somehow, Azula had gotten around behind them.

Katara turned to face the onslaught of fire as it roared towards her, quickly gathering water to block the upcoming blow.

She was a step too slow.

Time slowed as Zuko watched Azula's fire strike Katara's shoulder, knocking her off balance. She fell backward, her back arching gracefully. He saw Azula's white teeth flash merrily at her triumph. Then there was a sickening crack as Katara's head struck the stone edge of the fountain and she crumpled to the ground.

Zuko's vision was clouded by a red mist as he attacked his sister, an inhuman growl emanating from him.

Zuko shot everything he had at his sister. His sister, who had tricked him. His sister, who was the major reason for most of his pain. She was his living nightmare. Now she frowned as she concentrated on her brother.

She dodged Zuko's shots and made a kicking blow, blue fire roaring from her foot and towards Zuko. Zuko grabbed the fire from her, turned it around his body and threw it back it Azula. It was something he had seen Katara do with her Waterbending.

It caught Azula off guard, but she split the flames to land harmlessly beside her. The heat touched her feet; she had to admit it was impressive that her brother was able to throw her own fire back.

"I see you've learned a new—" she started to taunt, but another fireball was coming toward her.

Zuko jumped forward, blocking her from escaping with a dragon kick. Fire erupted on her right side, left side, then above her. Azula hurried to step back, Zuko shot another blow from his foot and Azula tumbled backward and over the edge of the Western Air Temple.

Before Zuko even knew what he was doing, he leapt forward to grab Azula's wrist; she was hanging off, Zuko slowly sliding with her. He couldn't believe what was happening.

"Let go of me, Zuzu. It would be just that easy," she said. When Zuko didn't and just looked at her in shock, she glared. "You've always been pathetic, a huge bleeding-heart! Look where it's got you," she yelled.

"Just surrender," Zuko begged, hanging on to his sister's hand, trying to keep her from falling. She may have been the cruelest person that he knew but she was still his sister. He didn't want to kill her.

"I'd rather die," she whispered fiercely. "Death would be far better than being the prisoner of this ilk."

Zuko felt his hands burning. The pain crawled up his arms and into his shoulders. He let out a shout but clung to her hand all the same. "Stop it, Azula! Don't do this!"

"Why?" She raised a questioning eyebrow and looked down into the canyon; she could see no bottom. "Do you not wish me dead?"

"No!" Zuko cried, her hand slipping from his grasp. He watched in horror as his little sister fell to her death; her eyes closed and she grinned wickedly all the way down.

Zuko stared after her, waiting to see if she would reappear. She was Princess Azula, Firebending prodigy and the bane of his existence. Anytime now he would see her come flying back up to attack him. She wouldn't give up so easily. Nothing. Zuko stared at the dark pit disbelievingly.

There was a crash nearby that brought Zuko back to what was happening.

"Katara," he breathed, scrambling to his feet and running to the clearing. She was still lying where she'd fallen, appearing asleep but for the blood seeping from the gash in her head. He picked her up and sat on the edge of the fountain, cradling her in his arms. Her hair fell in a dark curtain over his arm; her arm hung limply out to her side, lifelessly dangling inches from the ground.

"Katara," he whimpered, tightening his arms around her still body and pulling her closer. He'd known his nightmare would come true. He'd known he'd never be good enough to save her. He rocked her back and forth, burying his face in her hair. "Katara, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

* * *

That's how they found him, minutes after Azula had been discovered at the bottom of the canyon, looking like a beautiful, shattered porcelain doll with a manic grin splitting her face. They were looking for survivors after the flames had been put out and found him rocking her back and forth, muttering under his breath. "I'm sorry, so sorry."

Zuko looked up at their approach, Katara's blood covering his clothes. Suki and Toph stood in the clearing, staring at him in shock.

"She's not dead," Toph murmured, grabbing Suki's arm. "Zuko, she's not dead."

He shook his head and buried his face in Katara's hair. "I've killed her. It's all my fault. I've killed her."

Suki laid a gentle hand on Zuko's shoulder. "Zuko." He looked up at her, blood smeared on his face. "Toph says she's not dead. We've got to get her to someone who can help." He stared up at her vacantly, the fire in his amber eyes absent. That look scared Suki. It was if he had died, his soul had left behind this empty shell of a body. "Please, Zuko."

He looked back down at Katara, brushing the hair out of her face, and nodded. But, when Suki tried to take Katara from his arms, he glared at her. "I'll carry her. It's my fault."

Suki nodded. "Okay, I'll run ahead and get a healer. We'll try to meet you halfway. Toph, stay with them." Suki ran as fast she could; she knew that, if Katara didn't get treatment soon, that kind of wound could kill someone.

Toph could feel Zuko's presence, but everything about his movements was wrong. There was no pride or power behind his normal walk; he was broken, his strides stumbling. His heart was erratic as well, as though it didn't know what was going on. Toph laid a hand on his shoulder and she could feel him gaze at her before they walked faster to meet Suki.

"There! There they are," Suki called out, pointing toward them. Three healers and Chief Hakoda followed her. As soon as he saw his daughter, the chief ran towards her.

"My baby girl," Hakoda cried. He reached them and Zuko looked up at Hakoda, his hair and face covered in blood, tears and sweat soaking him.

"I'm so sorry. I tried, I-I'm so sorry." Zuko was stuttering, passing Katara into her father's arms.

Hakoda held his daughter close to him in a tight hug, tears running down his face as he laid her down for the healers to look her over. Zuko knelt beside her body while the healers talked quickly and examined her head wound; Hakoda laid a gentle hand of his shoulder.

Zuko watched as the healers' fingers poked and prodded the scorched patch of skin on her shoulder, all the while wishing he could see those blue eyes one last time.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Simatra: Ohh...the SUSPENSE!! It's killer! Don't worry people, one more chapter to go!

Lurisa: Yous shouln't antagonize them. They could come after us with pitchforks and torches. Let's just lead them on for a few more chapters...XD

Simatra: ...you realize you are saying this out loud where they will hear us, right? Oo

Lurisa: Actually, I'm typing but yes, I do realize this.

Simatra: So...you want to die?

Lurisa: Well, I'm hoping that the fans of this story will be nicer to us than we all were to Bryke with that stupid Sozin's Comet thing...

Simatra: I've got one thing to say about that...THANK YOU, MIZSWEET!

Lurisa: If you haven't heard of Mizsweet or the awesome podcast she's a part of, you should scamper over to her dA page. Her theories rock! I'll try to get a link on my profile page for anyone who's interested.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Disclaimer:** We do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. It and all it's characters belong the Mike and Bryan. _

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen**

Zuko was in Katara's room with her father and brother. They were all sitting beside her bed. The healers had just left, allowing them inside. Sokka had had to hold Zuko back when the healers first said he couldn't be in there with Katara as they healed her wounds.

Now they were in the room and Zuko still said nothing, staring blankly at her.

Sokka looked at his sister with tears running down his face. The healers said she would be alright, but everyone in the room acted as though she had died.

Finally, after a long, straining silence, Sokka spoke to Zuko. "How did it happen?"

Zuko looked at Sokka for a second before his eyes darted back to Katara. "I'm so sorry, Sokka. I wasn't good enough. Azula…she…"

Sokka nodded slowly and the room fell back into silence. Zuko almost wished he could get away from this depressing room, but he couldn't even take his gaze off Katara, let alone leave. He knew he'd only to come back in, worrying and fretting.

Hakoda finally stood up and touched Sokka's shoulders. "Come on, son. We have important things to do. Your sister will be fine for now." Hakoda gave a meaningful glance towards Zuko, who neither saw it nor noticed them leave. He only seemed to come out of his trance when his mother had come into the room and wrapped him into a tight hug.

"I was so worried about you," she cried. "The healers finally told me you were safe. They told me everything…"

Zuko finally looked away from Katara and gazed at Ursa. "I'm so sorry, Mom. I tried. I tried to save her. I tried to save Azula."

Ursa wrapped him into a tighter hug. "Don't worry about that now. It will be alright. Come, Zuko. You need to get out of this room and get something to eat."

Zuko looked from his mom to Katara, then stood up slowly; his mother smiled. "I made it myself. Lady Katara will be fine."

Zuko looked back at her helpless body as they left and closed the door.

* * *

While Zuko ate, he heard Hakoda and Sokka talking about casualties. Zuko stayed silent, only half listening to their conversation.

"But Dad, they came in from below, the secret entrance! How could Azula have known?"

"I don't know, Sokka. It's hard to say," Hakoda answered his son.

Zuko heard them talk about how many Firebenders had died. Fortunately, there had been a lot more Firebenders amongst the dead than their own troops. Then there was something about a head count. Someone was missing from their ranks, not found with the dead or alive. Zuko didn't really care, as long as he knew Katara would fine and Azula was finished.

* * *

Every morning, Zuko would walk into the room and place his hands on either side of Katara's head. He'd lean in close, looking intently into her face for any sign of change. After a week, he'd have taken any change at all. The way she just laid there, barely breathing and not moving, nearly drove him over the brink. When nothing happened, he'd take up his silent vigil at the foot of her bed, just sitting and waiting.

Hakoda and Sokka were there every moment they could get but they were in high demand now that the attack was over; they were needed to sort out the chaos that ensued. And Aang didn't have much more time; being the Avatar meant that he had little to no time to do as he pleased. But Toph was there for long hours at a time, sitting silently in a corner playing with a lump of rock to keep her mind busy.

The room was filled with flowers and tokens of people's sentiments. At least, if she ever woke up, it'd be to a beautiful sight.

"Zuko?" He turned slightly to see Suki standing in the door. She leaned against the doorjamb as he looked back at Katara, the pity in her eyes too much for him to handle; he didn't deserve pity, not after the things he'd done. "They're having a meeting. They want you to be there."

He knew who "they" were. Hakoda and Sokka along with Uncle Iroh and his mother had somehow come to be seen as the leaders. If there was a question, they were asked what to do. It was those four who had taken over and sorted out everything after the attack. It was those four who were charged with making decisions.

"I'm not leaving her, Suki," he said softly, reaching out and taking Katara's hand. "She can't wake up with no one here."

Suki nodded. "I'll tell them."

* * *

"Aang, you have to go now," Sokka urged. "The Fire Lord is venerable right now. It's our time to strike." His fist slammed down onto the tabletop to emphasize his point.

"But Katara—" Aang started to say.

"She'll be okay," Hakoda assured him, resting a solid hand on Aang's shoulder. "She'll have healers to help her and Zuko to keep her safe."

"And I'll stay with them." Ursa stepped forward. "Fear not, young Avatar. No harm will come to your friend."

They were gathered in an empty, unused room near Katara's room. Zuko stood in the doorway; he'd refused to come in where he couldn't see the door to her room. He listened in silence as the other's tried to talk Aang into leaving, his eyes constantly flicking over his shoulder toward Katara's door. He should've been in there watching over her, not here being useless.

"How can you want to leave her? What if she wakes up and we're not here? What if she needs us?" Aang eyes darted from one person to the next accusingly.

Hakoda looked the boy in the eyes. "Do you think I don't want to stay here, to spend every waking moment in that room over there?"

"Sometimes, we need to do things we'd rather not in order to keep our loved ones safe," Ursa said softly. Zuko saw Iroh's eyes flicker to his mother's. "There are sacrifices along the way but, in the end, it is worth it."

Aang looked up at her. "But I don't want to give her up."

Zuko barely heard the words they were so quiet but it was then he knew. The Avatar loved Katara. Not strictly in a friendly way either. And suddenly things started to fall into place. The odd looks when Aang had come across the two of them together, they way he spoke of her when they'd been training, even his eagerness to tell her everything Zuko had been teaching him. He loved her.

"Aang," he said softly. The others looked over at him in shock. It was the first time he'd spoken since he'd entered the room. "This is something only you can do. It is _your_ destiny to defeat him, not anyone else's. You have to go. Only you can make this world safe for her."

Aang's shoulders drooped and his head hung low in defeat. "I know. I know what I have to do, Zuko. I just…I just don't want to lose her."

Zuko nodded, understanding that feeling. His chest tightened as he thought of just how close he'd come to losing her. "You won't. She'll be here when you get back. I won't let anything happen to her. I promise."

Toph rested an arm across Aang's shoulders. "Come on, Twinkletoes. You've got some Fire Lord butt to kick."

Aang straightened, his shoulders coming back and his chin raising. He's grey eyes were narrowed, his mouth set in a determined line. He looked right at Zuko. "You take care of her."

Zuko nodded.

They filed past him out of the room; Uncle Iroh clapped him on the shoulder as he passed, pride shining in his eyes.

Zuko rushed back to Katara's room. He leaned over her, amber eyes looking for any change. When he saw nothing, he sank down on the side of her bed, taking her hand in his and running his fingers over it. "I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."

* * *

"Zuko, honey, you need to wake up," he heard Ursa say from above him. "I've got wonderful news."

He shot up off the floor to the side of Katara's bed. But there still wasn't any change. She still lay with her eyes closed. Zuko looked up as his mother rested a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, dear," his mother said softly. "It's not that. The Fire Lord has been defeated. The Avatar has beaten him."

Zuko blinked up at her. "Is he…is he dead?" Ursa nodded; he looked back down at Katara. He'd never be able to hurt them. He'd never be able to destroy the things he loved ever again. "Good."

Ursa looked down at him sadly. "Come, dear. It's time for supper."

Giving Katara's hand a squeeze and pulling the blanket up to her shoulders, Zuko left with his mother, casting a glance over his shoulder as he exited the room.

* * *

The next morning, Zuko rose from his place on the floor of her room. He'd moved in here soon after the others had left, finding that it was eerily quiet throughout the Air Temple. It was too empty.

He leaned over Katara, placing his hands on either side of her head. Maybe today would be the day she woke up. Maybe today he'd see those lovely blue eyes of hers blink up at him and she'd smile that smile and everything would be okay again.

Then Katara's eyes did blink open and lock on Zuko's. "Zuko," she breathed.

He'd jumped back at the shock of seeing her blue eyes looking up at him but now he was right back at her side, her hand held against his face. "I'm sorry, Katara."

Her brow furrowed. "For what?"

"For this," he replied, closing his eyes in torment. "It was my fault. I wasn't good enough. I couldn't save you from Azula."

She tried to sit up. Seeing her struggle, Zuko moved quickly to help, rearranging her pillows and fussing until she was comfortably leaning against the head of the bed. "It's not your fault, Zuko," she assured. "I moved too slowly. That is no one's fault but my own. I'll not have you blaming yourself, do you understand?"

"But—"

"No," she told him firmly. "Enough of this." Her voice softened and she squeezed his hand. "Please, Zuko, for me?"

He looked into her eyes, searching for any reason to continue to blame himself for what had happened to her. But all he found was her sincere desire for him to be guiltless. He nodded. "Yes, for you."

She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "Thank you," she whispered.

* * *

Authors Note:

Simatra: Alright everyone! This is finally finished!...Okay, we DO have an epilouge. I'm posting it as soon as we finish posting this. Hope you enjoyed the end!

Lurisa: Horray! Finally! Oh my Gosh! Our epilouge rocks!

Simatra: Yes! It's awesome, I'm sure you all will like it! But, let's not get carried away...what was your favorite moments in this chapter, Lurisa?

Lurisa: Hmmm...I don't know. I like it all really. But I guess, if I had to pick a favorite, it comes down to the part where Ursa tells Zuko she has wonderful news and he automatically assumes Katara's awake and the part where Katara blinks up at him as he's leaning over her. But there's also that part where Zuko convinces Aang--okay, so I really like this chapter...lol

Simatra: Yeah, I think I'm the same. Well, enjoy!


	15. Epilogue

_**Disclaimer:** We do not, in any way, claim to own Avatar: the Last Airbender and it's characters. They belong to Mike and Bryan. _

**Epilogue**

A month after the fall of Fire Lord Ozai and the ending of the war, Zuko found himself preparing to take the throne as the new Fire Lord. He stood in the high-ceilinged throne room, eyeing the great throne suspiciously.

"It's not going to bite, you know." He cast a sideways glance at Katara, who was standing beside him, and felt her give his hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze. "It is only a chair."

Zuko glanced back at the throne. "My father's chair. My grandfather's chair. It's been the chair of terrible men, Katara."

"But," she said softly, laying a hand on his arm. "Now it is your chair, your throne." She paused, smiling up at him. "Fire Lord Zuko."

He crinkled his nose. "What if I fail, Katara? What if—"

"If you're not good enough?" He looked down at his feet and nodded. She sighed. "What do I have to do to make you see that you _are_ good enough? To get past this foolish notion that you'll never be good at anything?

"You are good enough in my eyes. You are great and you have the potential to be a great Fire Lord, to bring your people into the light. And yet," she paused, raising his chin and forcing him to look at her. "Yet, you don't see yourself as I see you."

He looked into her blue eyes, seeing her hope and wanting so badly to give her a reason to keep hoping, to believe in him. And, seeing her hope gave him some faith in himself. Maybe, just maybe, he could be good enough. And he could fulfill her expectations. At least, as long as she was here, with him, to encourage him.

The smile that had been spreading across his face faltered. How was he going to manage without her? She'd been the only one besides his uncle who had ever encouraged him, ever had any faith in him. Without her at his side to believe in him, would he be able to carry on and become the Fire Lord she wanted him to be?

Her brow furrowed in worry. "What is it?"

"I was thinking about you leaving. How am I—who's going to—I want you to stay, Katara."

She blinked up at him. "Zuko, I—"

He gripped both of her hands in his and hunkered down so he was eyelevel with her. "Please, Katara. I i_need/i _you to stay."

"But I've been away so long," she replied, looking down. "I haven't seen my grandmother in a long time. I need to see her again."

He dropped her hands and straightened, taking a step back and facing away from her. "I understand. It was foolish of me to expect you to stay. Of course, you must return to the South Pole with your family."

"Zuko." She took a step forward, reaching out to him. Her hand hovered over his shoulder a moment before resting gently; he tensed under her touch. "I'll return, if you want me to. I promise."

He spun around, his face unguarded. Hope, amazement, awe…so many emotions flitted across his face that Katara couldn't put a name to them. "You'd come back?"

She smiled up at him. "Of course I'd come back. You may think you need me but I need you more."

It was his turn to blink at her, dumbfounded. "You…you need…me?"

Katara stepped up to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "More than I ever thought I'd ever need anyone."

He leaned closer, inhaling the scent of her. Dipping his head, he nuzzled her neck, breathing more deeply. Katara felt his lips ghost over her jaw, his hair tickling her cheek as he raised his head to look into her eyes. His amber eyes were alight with a fire that scorched her to look at. She blushed under his heated gaze but moved closer.

He said her name softly, tenderly; a hand rose to brush a lock of hair off her face and his gaze slipped to her lips as he inadvertently leaned closer. "Katara."

She could feel his breath on her lips before they ever made the lightest of contact; but that tender touch was all it took for the spark in his eyes to jump into hers. She leaned into the kiss, twining her fingers through his hair and pressing herself against him.

This was nothing like that kiss Aang had given her long ago, on the day of the first invasion. As heartfelt as it had been, it had been one sided. Katara certainly hadn't felt anything quite like this. It was exhilarating, shivers coursing through her limbs, bringing them to life and giving them a mind of their own. Sweet, merciful gods above! She could've died right there in his arms and been so blissfully happy she wouldn't have known.

Too soon, he pulled away, gasping for air and resting his forehead against hers.

She smiled and kissed his lips lightly. "You certainly have a way of convincing a girl."

He grinned. "Do you need more convincing? You don't seem like you're really seeing things my way yet."

"And just what way is that?"

Katara and Zuko sprang apart at the sound of Sokka's voice, each blushing furiously. Zuko opened his mouth to explain but Katara shook her head at him.

Sokka grinned. "I always thought you spent too much time in that room of his back at the air temple. You were bound to form some sort of relationship. But, I'm afraid it'll have to wait for further development. Katara, it's time to leave."

"But Sokka," she started, looking across at Zuko. "We're not going to stay and watch Zuko's coronation?"

Her brother shook his head. "We can't. I'm sorry Katara but we need to get started. Dad's anxious to get back. He's been away from home for far too long."

"But surely a few more days wouldn't make that much of a difference?" Katara felt Zuko's hand come to rest on her shoulder.

"You should go," he whispered with a sad smile. "I'll try to make it through without you."

Katara looked up at him. He seemed to believe in himself, for now. How long would that last? How long before he started to doubt his ability to lead? "I'll write, okay? I'll write so often you'll get tired of hearing from me."

He ran his fingers through her hair, memorizing the texture, the cool silkiness of it. "I doubt that."

Blinking back her tears, Katara threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "I'll miss you, Zuko."

"I'll wait," he murmured, pulling her close, crushing her against him. "I'll wait."

Sokka cleared his throat. "Katara, we need to go. Dad's waiting for us down at the docks."

"I'm coming," she replied solemnly. With one last glance at Zuko, she began to follow her brother out of the room.

Not being able to watch her retreating back, Zuko turned away. He heard the door close with a resounding thud and it was almost as though he'd been struck in with a physical blow; he felt the pain of it.

"Zuko!"

He spun around and there she was, rushing across the room and into his arms. She crushed her lips to his, tears leaking from her eyes.

"Don't forget about me, okay?" she whispered into his ear. "Promise me."

"I promise," he murmured, burying his face in her thick hair. His arms tightened around her. "I'll never forget."

"Katara," Sokka called from the door.

"I'll let you know when I'm coming back, alright?" she said, cupping his face in her hands.

He nodded. "I'll be waiting." He kissed her forehead. "Now, go before your brother comes over to drag you away."

Katara smiled sadly, touching her fingers to his lips, and turned, walking away.

Zuko watched until the door closed then rushed to the window overlooking the harbor. He watched her appear from the palace, walk down to the docks and disappear in the distance.

Authors Note:

Simatra: Hey, hey, Lurisa...Yo Mamma's so fat Zhao killed her mistaking her for the Moon!

Lurisa: Simatra, that's not a very nice thing to say about my mother. However, while we're on this topic, Yo Momma's so fat she tried to eat Haru's mustache thinking it was a burt french fry.

Simatra: Hey now! YO mamma's so UGLY even Iroh won't hit on her!

Lurisa: Now, just a minute there! My mother is a very pretty woman! Uncle Iroh would so hit on her... Oo ...that's just weird. Okay, new topic! We finally wrote the Zutara fluffiness! Or, as Simatra would put it, the Zutara smut! Horray for Zutara-ness!!

Simatra: Woot! It's lovely! Gotta lurv that smut!

Lurisa: So, how many of you were severly angered that all you got in the actual story was huggles? Because I just want a head count of the people trying to kill me...

Simatra: Now, now, Lurisa...I'm sure...looks at crowd of people...it was worth it...yeah...

So, thanks for all your reviews and putting up with our craziness at the end of the chapters. We really do love you guys and are way excited that people actually wanted to read this. It means a lot to both of us that you stuck with it for this long. Big, big, humungous thank yous to all of you.


End file.
